


Knowledge Comes With a Price Tag

by Melethril



Series: The Price of Knowledge [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Bucky Is a Good Guy, But People Do Not See That, But Tony Does Not See That, Gen, Genius Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Post-Civil War (Marvel), Protective Hulk, Protective Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Protective Rhodey, Science Bros, Technopathy, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, inspired by Alex51324 Tony Stark: Appliance Whisperer, yet - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-10
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-05-19 12:17:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5967145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melethril/pseuds/Melethril
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>These days, many things are offered for free. However, there is not such thing as free knowledge. There is always a price to pay. If you are a genius, you better also be a billionaire. Even that will not save you from filing for bankruptcy as Tony would agree.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Have No Need of You

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for the reviews and the kudos. This is the main story of the "Price of Knowledge" arc. I can already promise that future chapters will come less regular as I am currently on vacation, which gives me more time to write, but also less time to post.
> 
> Also, don't be mad at Steve after this. He's a good guy, and I would never make him the bad guy in any story.
> 
> I am not a romance writer per se, so don't expect too many pairings. However, expect a lot of 'brothers in arms', 'friendship/friends as family', 'hurt/comfort' and 'angst'. Should any romance arise, I will bring up the tags beforehand, so you can decide whether you want to read those pairings or not.

_Chapter 1: I Have No Need of You_

The new Avengers completed yet another mission successfully. Natasha and Bucky just defeated the last Doombots, Clint lowered his bow and Sam was on his way to pick him up from the rooftop, Bruce was already changing into the kind and decidedly pacifistic physicist, Vision and Iron Man had effectively reprogrammed the machine Van Doom had built in order to avoid a catastrophe, and were now approaching Steve. Scarlet Witch released the only human assailant on site from her powers. This had worked like a charm.

Two years after then end of the War, the new Avengers were again a force to be reckoned with. Nothing would tear them apart, he would make sure of it. Tony leaving had been the best thing that ever happened to the team; a cruel thought, but true. Tony's innate inability to follow orders, his tendency to chat on and off the battlefield, his unwillingness to  _listen_  had infuriated him. He had been a hindrance. Arno Stark was no less brilliant than his brother; he provided them with everything they needed and more; there were no scandals, no snide remarks from the journalists every other press conference, and to the reinstated SHIELD Director Fury's relief, no PR nightmares. Arno also regularly participated in the team building exercises whenever he could. He had even less time available than Tony for simply being together for the sake of friendship, but that was fine; he was a busy man. At least, he did not talk incessantly. They had formed a good, professional if a bit cool relationship, but Steve for once preferred it this way. The War had burned out the tentative bonds of friendship he had started to build with Tony. His close bond to Howard Stark was more than enough for any Stark. Come to think of it, he suspected that his fondness for the business mogul had blinded him to Tony's faults; to hear that they were not related only confirmed his reservations.

However, he hated thinking about his final battle with Tony as he had considered the engineer his friend nevertheless. Hurting him had been hell.

' _So was I.'_

It had taken Steve a year before he stopped having that particular nightmare. He had never wanted to harm Tony, but the billionaire had become a mere puppet of the government, all too willing to compromise. Steve had been convinced that a person as suspicious of authority as Tony would be on his side. In retrospect, he had had so many misconceptions about the billionaire he clearly had never known the true Tony Stark. Nevertheless, seeing him, or the person he had thought Tony was, leave, hurt.

In fact, it had pained him so much that Steve had refused to say anything to Tony as he left for his exile ( _'Only Tony would have the opportunity to spend his exile in Switzerland_ ,' Clint had laughed, both fondly and unhappily). He had feared that, if he opened his mouth, he would ask the former heir of Stark Industries to stay.

"Let's go back to Headquarters for debriefing" said Steve.

Arno had been kind enough to provide some new Avengers headquarters very close to the old Tower. Of course, he had offered them to stay there, but not even Arno lived in the Tower anymore. They all said that there were simply too many memories in that house, but the truth was, JARVIS' absence had caused all kinds of malfunctions. Arno had assured them that Tony's code was flawless, and any attempt of overriding the code or installing a new one had resulted in total failure of the system. Steve had the suspicion that this had been Tony's final departing gift.

As they returned to headquarters, Steve actively forced his mind to stop thinking about Tony. He blamed Bruce for it. Even two years after the former billionaire's departure, the physicist still sorely missed him. In fact, he had left the Avengers three times ever since, but had returned every time without giving a particular reason. He seemed unable to forgive himself for having turned the tides of war against Tony's favor.

This morning, right before the alarm had sounded through Headquarters, Bruce had mentioned their old teammate.

" _What're you doing_?" Clint had asked curiously when they encountered Bruce sitting at the counter deep in thought as he stared at the computer.

" _Wishing Tony was here_ ," had been the blunt reply.  _"He could make sense of this mess of a code."_

The kitchen had been dead silent as soon as the words had been uttered. Bruce never mentioned Tony, even left the room when his name fell. Arno had stopped trying to talk to him about his brother about two months after meeting Bruce for the first time. The Hulk had even been worse. He had slammed Bucky through a wall on their first mission, and refused to take orders from Steve for quite a while.

" _I thought you were an expert programmer and an outstanding hacker with an IQ higher than Tony's,_ " Natasha had interjected calmly. If she had been surprised at the initial comment, she did not show it. Steve loved Natasha's level-headedness. She was a true asset to the team. Her information as a double agent had been crucial during the war. More importantly, Bruce' remaining feelings for her were at least part of the reason why he chose their side. She had rejected any advances on his part, but had accepted his apologies with grace despite the physicist's flight after the fiasco with Ultron. They had even been able to somewhat rekindle their original friendship. The lullaby still worked like a charm, even though the Hulk was decidedly more volatile these days. Steve truly wished for Natasha to find happiness, as she deserved it more than most.

" _All true, but I'm talking about Tony who's decades if not centuries ahead of humanity when it comes to coding. To him, it's like breathing: effortless but also essential…_ " Bruce tense shoulders had fallen and he had lowered his head.  _"We crippled him."_ As soon as he had uttered these words, Bruce rose and left the room without another word. Steve had followed him.

" _Bruce, is everything alright?"_

" _I shouldn't be the one to do this," Bruce hissed as soon as Steve finished posing his question. In an abrupt move, he waved the laptop at the leader of the Avengers. "Writing and double-checking these security codes. And frankly, I have no idea when Tony had time to_ think  _about them on top of everything else he had to do on a daily basis."_

" _Bruce, why don't you show them to Arno?" Steve, practical as ever, tried to pacify the clearly agitated physicist. He had known that Bruce had been under stress recently, but the man was incredibly hard to read at times; harder even than Tony._

" _Arno barely has time to come and be Iron Man, or do I need to remind you that he has not shown up for the last two Avengers Assembles? They will release the new StarkPhones, StarkPads and StarkComputers next month! Pepper hasn't been able to_ breathe _for the past five months, and I know that Arno is under a lot of pressure. He doesn't have time to look at security codes."_

" _I understand, I see," Steve interjected hastily. "Why don't we wait until next month?"_

" _Because there is a lot of very delicate information on our servers and there are a number of technophiles and hackers with a great interest in what we're doing and unless you want them to know about Tessaract technology, we need to constantly upgrade our security. Not just once a month… Once a day at the very least. Tony is one of the best, no doubt. He has to be or Stark Industries would have never been as successful. I know he has written codes that keep out the likes of Doom. I'm trying, Steve, but this is not what I do, and even Tony needed JARVIS to keep on top of things."_

" _I understand," Steve repeated. "We'll figure it out, I promise."_

_The alarm sounded less than a minute later, causing Bruce to turn into the Hulk much faster and a lot more explosive than usual._

Less than four hours later, everybody was freshly showered and waiting for him to start.

"You've all done a great job today, well done! Vision and Scarlet Witch, make sure you practice that flying maneuver, it nearly failed today. Iron Man, thanks for coming today, how much…?"

Unsurprisingly, Arno looked apologetic. Unlike Tony, the man actually knew how to say 'sorry'.

"I'm sorry, Steve, but I really need to go. They called for yet another Board meeting, and they expected me there ten minutes ago."

"No, that's fine, go. I'll write a report and send it to you." He did not think about the fact that Tony had built a scanner for him that allowed immediate and flawless translation of his hand- or typewriter-written after-action reports into electronic files. That had been the early days of the Avengers Initiative; he knew how to use a computer now and used them for the reports.

"Wait, Arno!" Bruce interjected. "Before you leave, I need you to look over the security codes for…"

"Use the one for the new StarkPad as a guideline. You'll be fine," Arno replied hastily and, with a quick movement of his right forefinger, moved something from his omnipresent cell phone to Bruce' tablet. "I gotta go now, bye!" With that, he turned around, his phone already at his ear as he left the room.

With Arno's abrupt departure, Steve made sure to keep the debriefing short. Later, when everyone else either left the tower disappeared into their lab, Bucky cooked dinner for just the two of them.

"You okay?" his best friend approached him gruffly, but Steve could see his friend's concern.

"I'm fine," he smiled, but Bucky's raised eyebrows quickly wiped the smile off his face. "Tired. The War destroyed so many bonds… I'd do it again in heartbeat," he reassured the other man quickly, who had not looked worried at all and was now distinctly amused by his antics. "But I wish sometimes that Tony never built the Iron Man armor. Even his absence drives a wedge between the Avengers. If he had never been part of the team, everything would be easier."

"Would you really want to miss him entirely, though?" Bucky asked; his head tilted to one side. "I'm not talking about what he did for the Avengers, I'm talking about never having met the man."

Steve sighed and lowered his head, "No, I wouldn't." He closed his eyes when a comforting hand squeezed his right shoulder. He could be himself around Bucky: just Steve Rogers, unsure, tired and weak. He did not have to be Captain America.

His enhanced hearing alerted him that someone was approaching very quietly, and he braced himself instinctively. It took him less than a second to know who it was.

"Is everything alright?"

"I'm not sure," said Bruce as he entered, his tablet in his hands, looking tense but unsurprised that they had heard him come closer. In an instant, both super soldiers were at his side.

"What is it?"

"This code is all wrong. I… I looked the code Arno handed to me and…" Bruce' speech was halted and strangely uncertain. "I don't think he wanted me to see this, or even expected me to recognize it, but some of the security code in the new StarkPad is backwards. I have seen Arno's codes before: they are clean-cut and flawless, almost sterile and impersonal, but perfect. Tony's are more chaotic, almost alive and yet, somehow gentle if that makes any sense… I still don't know what went wrong with Ultron. I think the Tessaract messed with Tony's original code, but I digress," he continued hastily once he saw Steve's very stern expression. "The point is: this is not Arno's way of coding. It looks like something Tony would create, but more impersonal and cold. I don't like it, and this must be in all the new StarkPads and possibly all new Stark technology. I'm not sure what it is, but I think it could be dangerous and I need to discuss the issue with an expert."

"Whom would you ask?" Steve asked, already suspecting the answer, and inwardly cursing all Starks and their fixation on virtual things. He should have known that Arno was as hopeless as his brother. He should have simply banned the man from becoming an Avenger.

"Well, I wouldn't dare ask Arno about it for obvious reasons. He's far too good not to know exactly what he coded. Reed Richards perhaps or Hank Pym, but I can already tell you that they won't know more than I do. This… this is Stark technology, and Tony knows Arno's mind better than anybody else."

"You want to show the code to Tony," Steve concluded. "Are you sure that this is necessary, or do you simply want this because you wish to see Tony?" Steve cut right to the chase, which was met with a look of disbelief.

"If I wanted to see Tony, there is no force on Earth that could stop me from seeing him, not even you, Captain Rogers," was the growled reply, and the green tinge to the doctor's eyes told Steve rather blatantly who was in control at the moment.

Then why haven't you visited him before?" Bucky cut in apparently unimpressed, but Steve knew him well enough to see that he was bracing himself for impact.

The green disappeared all of a sudden and brown eyes blazed, displaying both anger and anguish so painful, it made Steve wish for the Hulk to resurface.

"Because I betrayed him! Because I thought he was wrong, and I wasn't listening. I thought I knew the price we'd pay, but I didn't! I didn't know that Tony was facing either a trial for treason or retreat into exile in case he lost! Because I didn't do a damn thing when he was forced to turn his back on his home," Bruce visibly deflated. "The Other Guy misses him so much, he swum halfway across the Atlantic to get to him and we nearly drowned. Tony almost got him to talk to me, almost… I was this close," his right forefinger and thumb were almost pressed together, "to finding peace, but now the Other Guy only surfaces when there is something to smash. Yes, I want to see Tony, but what the hell am I supposed to say to him?" Bruce waved his hands in a helpless gesture, before he continued in a low voice, "This is not about me, or about my guilt, this is business and the feeling that I will regret it if Tony never looks at the code before the new technology is published. This is Avengers business, and we should meet with a former member to avoid a catastrophe."

 


	2. Arrivederci

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arrivederci - Goodbye, we'll see each other again  
> Saying 'goodbye' is hard. Saying 'hello again' can be worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the reviews and kudos. Here is the next chapter. Future chapters will come slower, but I seem to be on a roll and vacation is a wonderful thing :)

_Chapter 2: Arrivederci_

"DUM-E, put that computer over… No, not there! I will not hesitate to donate you to a community college if you keep this up, and I don't care if they don't exist around here, I'll find a way. U, clean up that mess! Why am I putting up with you?"

Tony sighed even though they all knew the answer. DUM-E approached him with a chirping sound, asking him whether he was feeling okay. Fondly, he caressed DUM-E's pressure sensors.

He lived in the outskirts of Bern and had more than just a small variety of customers, but he had not really made any friends here. He did not need friends. The last time he had tried to make some outside of Pepper and Rhodey, it had majorly blown up in his face. He was practically a hermit these days, and he preferred it this way. He really did.

He finished up the security system he had created for a rather exclusive jewelry store and sent a message to his initial contractor that it was ready for installment, while he simultaneously repaired Mrs. Bucher's old TV and Mr. Aeberhard's computer (both with upgrades and, in case of the computer, additional firewalls and a filter for any kind of malware).

Life was easy. Life was quiet. Life was repetitive.

Tony sighed.

Two more years.

He hoped that this easy life would not bore him to death prematurely until then. His hands twitched when he put the TV aside. He wanted to build things, he wanted to hear the buzzing of life, he… would not focus on building things more complex than a microwave.

JARVIS seemed to sense how dark his thoughts were becoming and told his next moves on the six virtual keyboards.

"Checkmate in two for Boards 1, 2, 4 and 5. Checkmate in three for 3. Move the Queen to C5 on 6, which results in checkmate," Tony smiled. "Really, JARVIS? I expected better after all these years." He was just messing with his AI and JARVIS knew it. They had been playing for over an hour, which was longer than almost all people on Earth had ever been able to keep his attention on the board. God, he missed Bruce.

"I'm sorry, sir, but your approach to chess still manages to confuse me."

"Too illogical for you, Mr. Spock?" Tony grinned.

"Indeed, sir."

Tony sent U, Butterfingers and DUM-E to recharge as this would allow him some privacy to talk to his friend; or rather, to continue their everlasting study sessions. He did not want to frustrate his other AIs with this. They were unique creations with a whole range of emotion from love to jealousy, but only JARVIS was this differentiated in terms of human emotion, and was able to properly analyze them.

"Revenge."

JARVIS had given up a long time ago to simply repeat the definition of revenge ("the action of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands"), but immediately went to the heart of the matter.

"Not yet, Sir."

"Because you didn't want to?"

"Because you would not have liked it."

That was not surprising. JARVIS could autonomously create absolute havoc if he so wished, and these past two years had not been easy for either of them.

"Do you plan to?"

"Not without your permission, Sir."

"Good enough for me, J. I trust you."

There was a moment of silence.

"What about you, Sir?"

"Not really. Whom would I unleash my revenge on, JARVIS? They are my friends."

"I do not particularly agree with your definition of friends, Sir. If you go by the classic definition, Colonel Rhodes and Ms. Potts are your friends, but none of the Avengers are. They have shown very little sign of affection on their part."

Tony touched his arc reactor with a soft smile, but his chest clenched painfully, "Well, that's because it's always more complicated than a mere definition. They are…" His voice failed him, simply because he had no idea how to explain his feelings to his AI.

"I'm sorry, Sir," JARVIS sounded truly apologetic. "Of course. However, I do reserve myself the right to be angry at your behalf. They had no right to take as much as they did. Their actions were successful, Sir, as successful as cutting off the hands of a thief, but that does not make the punishment any less unethical. Vision should have objected."

"Again, I told him not to," Tony repeated for the 35th time, "I didn't want the others to know about that. They knew far too much already. If Steve had known, he would have objected, I'm sure of it." Almost sure, he was almost positively sure that Steve's sense for justice would have been strong enough to overcome his disappointment in Tony.

Thankfully, a soft bell that announced Mr. Aeberhard's arrival interrupted his dark thoughts.

" _Guete Abed, Herr Stark. We gaht's Eu hüt? Ech ha e Nachricht übercho, dass mine Computer gflickt isch worde,"_ the tall man said cautiously as he entered Tony's workshop announcing that he had received the message he had left on the man's cell phone.

" _Grüezi, Herr Aeberhard. Ihrä Compi isch gflickt und ich ha all Datä chönne rette_ ," Tony replied, while he turned on the computer. He had never tried to adopt the Bernese Swiss German accent. He liked hearing it, but he had first learned the Zurich accent due to multiple connections to the ETH and several businesses located in that city. Once he had an accent in any language, he did not randomly change it. He explained to the man what he had done, what the original problem was and how he resolved it. He further gave some instructions on how to avoid similar issues in the future and how to keep his computer for the next ten years on upgrades only. All tech companies seemed to count on 'use it, toss it' mentality these days, upgrading the software and making it incompatible with the older hardware forcing people to buy the latest models on an almost yearly basis. It was not necessary, though, Tony had his tricks, and people, especially small businesses, were grateful as it lowered their IT costs immensely.

Mr. Aeberhard paid him immediately in cash, thanked him profusely, and left the workshop within minutes.

"Sir, are you sure you do not want me installed into your surveillance system?" JARVIS asked again. This was an ongoing request since Tony's arrival in Switzerland, but the contract he had signed, prohibited him from using any technology more sophisticated than a surveillance system of a regular small business of the same size. JARVIS was here as his company, not his bodyguard, but the lack of protection he could offer, stressed the AI immensely.

"We are good, JARVIS, why…?" The bell rang and Tony glimpsed at the camera feed. His heart started to pound painfully against the arc reactor. "JARVIS, is that…?"

"Yes, Sir, it looks like Captain Rogers, Sergeant Barnes and Dr. Banner have entered the premises. Do you wish me to…"

"No, JARVIS, I'll handle it," Tony said as he heard the soft knock. "It's open!"

While his right hand was covering his chest, he hoped the arc reactor was strong enough. He felt like his heart would come to a stop any minute, which he would actually prefer to the present situation.

They entered and, on top of JARVIS' barely concealed fury, DUM-E, Butterfingers and U practically pulsed with a confusing mix of emotion ranging from happiness, to ' _I missed you!'_  to ' _Go away and never return!'_  and ' _Why have you stopped coming by?'_

This painful onslaught of emotion on top of his own caused his muscles to tense up. It did not help that Bucher TV continued to ask Bern Workshop Microwave what was happening, and Bern Workshop Coffee Machine was asking for beans to prepare the coffee, while Bern Workshop Teapot demanded to be noted, and snarled at Coffee Machine that she was Tony's favorite.

"I care about you both. I adore your tea," he said firmly but quietly hoping to end that daily argument while praying to a God he definitely did not believe in that Steve's ears did not catch his reassuring words.

Steve's confused and worried expression told him that all was for naught.

"Welcome!" said Tony spreading his arms before quickly covering his chest again, hoping to distract them, while simultaneously reprimanding himself for his indisputably odd behavior. "Mi casa es su casa and so on and so forth! Come on in!"

Steve, Barnes and Bruce entered and stepped down the few steps that led to his workshop ( _Organized chaos_ , as he liked to call it), slowly approaching him.

_Bruce is here, yay! Why are they here? Is everything okay? Bruce looks tired (_ most probable cause: sleep deprivation, which does not affect him until sleeping less than two hours a night over a period of seven days. Why is he pushing himself so hard? Has he already found another Science Buddy? _). Cap is unsure. Why? Barnes looks like he wants to murder me in my sleep. It's not like he would have to wait until then. I'm not a threat. They all could kill me with their little finger. They always could without the Armor. No Armor (_ don't want to die - Liar! _). The Hulk would never hurt me, but Cap might, Barnes will. They took Armor apart with their bare hands (_ Pain) _. How's Armor? Is Arno taking care of it? He goes into action with it, but does he upgrade it? Does he remind it that it's there to help not to hurt?). Barnes ripped out the arc reactor (_ Defenseless. Let me die! I won't build any weapons for you! Just let me die! _). He would come alone if he wanted to end me. God, his arm still screams in pain. How can Barnes ignore this? Why hasn't Arno taken care of that? Is Arno hurt? Nobody was injured on the last mission and Pepper didn't say anything. But what if Arno is hurt? There is no heir. Pepper might inherit. She should._

"Hi Tony, how are you?" Steve asked cautiously, barely interrupting Tony's thought process.

"Good, perfect, absolutely fabulous," Tony responded promptly, retreating further back until he bumped against the large table, which covered with various tools from a toolkit fit to fiddle with micro-electronics to wrenches intended for cars. "How are you? Is everything alright?"

"Are you afraid of us, Stark?" Barnes asked bluntly. His cold eyes followed Tony's every move. He had not forgiven how Tony's actions and manipulations had hurt, and almost killed, Steve.

"Nope, why would I be?" Sarcasm was back with brutal force as if it wanted to catch up after two years. "I'm just in a room with three superheroes who have more or less reason to hold a grudge against me. I don't see why I should be worried."

"We wouldn't harm you, Tony," Bruce lifted both of his hands in a heartbreakingly fragile gesture, which caused Tony to feel like a monster.

"Oh God, Bruce, I know you wouldn't," said the engineer, not trying to hide his pain. He stepped towards the physicist with his arms wide. "I..." ' _missed you'_  would the understatement of the century, so he was at a loss for words.

Bruce, who usually avoided openly displaying his emotions, emitted a pained, little sound and crossed the last steps that separated them to pull Tony into a hug. It was tight and safe, and the engineer never wanted to let go. However, it soon became a little too tight.

"Whoa there, Big Guy!" he gasped. "Remember, I have a huge metal thing in my chest, could you…"

Bruce immediately released him and Tony almost whimpered at the loss of contact. The last time he had touched a human being was when Rhodey had visited two months ago, if you ignored casual business handshakes. The colonel was now on a secret mission in the Middle East (and yes, for once, he did not know more, because he could not risk breeching his contract). As he looked at his Science Buddy, he saw familiar green eyes scrutinizing him.

"I'm good, Big Guy," he repeated, making sure the Hulk knew that he not only addressed Bruce.

Without giving any warning, DUM-E shot forward and slammed into Steve, who was so surprised by the assault, he stumbled a little.

"DUM-E, stop it!" Tony shouted, quickly inserting himself between his AI and the leader of the Avengers, terrified of what the latter might do to the robot. "Sorry, Rogers!" said he, while doing his best to tune out Butterfinger's and U's  _'Must not go against primary directives, but DUM-E follows his prime directive, will not interfere'_  and DUM-E's  _'Left us! Never said goodbye! Tony Stark miserable without Avengers, but also sad around Avengers. Alone, always alone. Steve Rogers stood against Tony Stark. Friend but also adversary. Steve Rogers let him go away and left Tony Stark all alone. Now Steve Rogers must go away!'_  "They've not seen you guys in a while. It's hard to explain the shifts in our relation…fr…shifts of feelings towards each other. Give me a minute, boys!" he addressed the robots. "Go and recharge!"

The first command he ever programmed worked like a charm, but their feelings were still a jumbled mess. He had no idea how to sort out something he did not quite make sense of himself. Years of practice, years of appearing completely indifferent towards anybody he met, allowed him to rid his face off any emotion.

"What can I do for you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N 1: What do you think? Want me to continue? And I apologize for yet another cliffhanger.
> 
> A/N 2: For all the (approximately 0.5) people from Bern or Zurich: No, I am not from either of these cantons as you can probably tell, so feel free to correct me if I did not get the accent right.


	3. May I Ask For Your Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve tries. He really does. It's hard to meet someone who was once a friend, then became the enemy, and was now… what? In a way, Tony was now a civilian he had to protect.   
> Tony does not make it easy for him, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, thank you so much for the response and all your comments and kudos! Writing this is a lot of fun (yes, I am cruel by nature).

_Chapter 4: May I Ask For Your Help?_

Steve had spent less than five minutes in Tony’s presence and he was already confused. It was obvious that the man was terrified of them, especially Bucky, which was not surprising given their last encounter on the battlefield. He also noticed that he was no longer ‘Cap’ or ‘Steve’ but ‘Rogers’. He understood as much, but the rest of his behavior was completely erratic. Even stranger was his appearance. The goatee was gone, and he now had a much less clean-shaved beard. He wore a completely inoffensive, almost bland, black T-shirt, and a pair of tattered jeans. This only confirmed his suspicion that Tony had spent too little time with people, or rather, too much time with his robots. He talked to them like they were alive. Steve swore he had even heard the other man address the teapot when they had entered the room. The workshop was chaos. How Tony could work there was a mystery to Steve. Tools were scattered all across several tables; next to a whole range of tiny forceps and pliers was a computer that appeared old even to the Brooklyn-born man from the first part of the last century and seemed to be the screen for Tony’s security camera.

Steve felt a pang of guilt. Tony was utterly incapable of taking care of himself, and they never should have left him to his own devices. A mad Tony Stark was fuel for nightmares.

All pity he felt for the man was wiped away when he was suddenly faced with the suave businessman that did not display any other emotion but mockery.

_“What can I do for you?”_

“What makes you think we need anything from you?” Steve retorted out of sheer reflex. What he received was a look that bordered on exasperation.

“Let me see,” Tony sighed derisively. “I am virtually powerless: no money, no suit, no nothing. Meaning, if the government had any further plans to punish me, there would be no need for them to send three Avengers to do the job. I doubt you crossed the Atlantic and ventured into the middle of Western Europe to catch up with an old,” there was a short pause, “friend. Ergo, you want me to do something for you, though what I am not sure. You have Arno and Bruce on the team. Depending on the topic, Bruce’s brain effortlessly outplays mine, and Arno knows as much or more of engineering and coding than I do. So, those two together are pretty much like three of me, just with much less background noise.” _‘Well, thank Heaven for that!’_ Steve thought, getting aggravated. Out of the corners of his eyes, he saw Bruce opening his mouth in protest. “So it is 2.3463 of me, but bottom-line is that you don’t need me for my brains. Do you need me for political influence? Most have turned their backs on me by the end of the War if not before, but some might still listen to me. Or do you…?”

“We actually need your brains,” Bruce interjected hastily, possibly tired of the power play between Tony and Steve. He reached for his backpack and extracted a laptop. “In fact, I need your coding skills.”

Tony’s fingers, which had been running circles on the table he had used to lean on, halted.

“No,” Tony’s eyes were dark, and his lips formed a thin line.

“Tony…”

“I think Mr. Stark has given you a clear answer, Captain Rogers,” JARVIS’ voices sounded out of nowhere. “Unless of course you believe that Mr. Stark does not have the right for the freedom you so valiantly protected of your fellow Americans. After all, Mr. Stark seems to be the exception for all of your values and rules including a fair fight.”

Steve was speechless. He had not known that a computer could sound so cold. Bucky immediately stepped forward, but Tony was the one to end the fight before it started.

“JARVIS, that’s enough!” said he, as stern as Steve had ever heard him. “He did what I…” He then said something in what sounded like Dutch or German, he could not say for sure. A quick glance at Bucky confirmed that he could not depict the language either. The engineer then looked at Steve.

“I’m surprised that you of all people encourage me to break the rules laid out by… yourself, actually. Remember? ‘ _No weapons, no computers, no coding, creating nothing more complex than a microwave._ ’ These were your laws, Rogers, not mine.” Tony sounded completely indifferent, as if nothing they were talking about had any meaning to him. As always, it caused the Brooklyn native to see red in one minute flat.

“Your brother has followed your path, Stark,” said Steve bluntly.

Tony’s eyebrows raised and the former billionaire did not miss a beat, “My path of awesomeness? I am well aware, thank you. I do read the newspaper, you know. The new Stark technology will revolutionize the modern world, as we know it.”

“The path of pride and megalomania,” replied Steve, undeterred. “His new technology is flawed. Bruce found a glitch in the Matrix.” Tony’s eyes were wide. “Oh please, you really thought I would stop adapting simply because you left? You were not my only connection to the modern world.” He was being cruel, and he knew it. The War was over. There was no need to use old rhetoric. He would have to stop seeing his former friend and teammate as an enemy. Tony was now a civilian who deserved his protection, not his scorn. He tried to decipher the other man’s facial expression. Once upon a time, he could have seen through his layers, but the mask was entirely void of any emotion; he might as well have worn the Iron Man faceguard.

Bruce _growled_.

Steve looked at the physicist whose eyes were starting to look much more predatory. He had forgotten just how protective the Hulk was of Tony. He stepped away so that Tony’s old _lab partner_ could take it from there.

Bruce thrust forward the laptop and opened it with enough force to make it crack a little causing Tony to wince, but the shorter man still remained as he was. His hands held onto the table with a tight grip. The laptop came to life and a stream of code appeared. The older Stark brother’s eyes widened, his hands let go of the table and he took a step forward. Quickly, Steve grabbed the laptop and slammed it shut.

“Will you help us?”

The engineer’s eyes were still on the laptop before they found Steve’s. Once again, his face was an emotionless mask.

“What’s in it for me?”

That almost took the leader of the Avengers by surprise. Apparently, his miniscule physical reactions betrayed him because he was faced with that infuriating smirk.

“Come on, Rogers, I used to be one of the most powerful people on the planet and an extraordinarily successful industrialist. I made a multi- _billion_ dollar company out of my father’s multi-million dollar company by the time I was twenty-five. I have never done anything without considering my own advantage right about the time I turned six. I repeat, what’s in it for me?”

He did not know Tony anymore. It was like the War had brought forth a different Stark, the man he had thought he was when they first met. He had never let himself be bullied though, and this new Tony Stark in front of him was a bully by nature.

“A good deed, perhaps? Restore your tattered image to the public?”

Stark laughed out loud. “Yes, because they have always loved me so much,” said he derisively. “Especially if I go after my own brother. Tell me, why _would_ I go against my own flesh and blood? Okay, perhaps not so much flesh and blood, but he _is_ my brother,” he added.

“By what, years of emotional bonding?”

Steve regretted the words as soon as he uttered them. His mother would have put him over her knee for his words. “I apologize, Tony, that was uncalled for. This whole situation is something I can’t… I don’t understand much of what Bruce has tried to explain, and I am asking for your help because I know that not only can you make sense of it, but you will thrive in it, and be a true asset to the Avengers team.”

For a moment, it looked like the other man would reconsider Steve’s request, but then the engineer just shook his head.

“Me too, Rogers,” the words sounded like utter disdain; it was charring. “But I do not do anything for free. What do you offer for my services?”

Bucky took another step forward, but Steve stopped him in time by finally giving his offer. He had hoped it would not be necessary.

“Amnesty. There will be no trial for treason if you enter American soil. You can return home and, for the duration of this mission, you will be allowed to use any technology you need,” said the super soldier, tired of the power play. “That’s my offer. It has been signed by the president.”

Slowly, Stark nodded, not giving anything away. “Nope, not good enough.”

“That is all I have to offer.”

“Then you are a lousy business man,” was the cold reply.

“Tony, please,” Bruce interjected. “I am sorry about… hell, do you want the apologies in chronological order or depending on importance? I never meant for you to be sent here... to this _life_. You don’t belong here, in a small workshop barely good enough for a regular mechanic. You need more than this, you deserve more than this, and I’m sorry that my actions put you here. I also apologize for my cowardice for not having visited you before. I wanted to, but only the Other Guy tried to actually do it. He’s much braver than I am. You were right about that, by the way. You were right about a lot of things. I need your help with this. However, it doesn’t matter what you say. Whether you help or not, I will stay if you’ll have me. I swear I’ll be an actual friend this time.”

And that was the reason Steve had taken along the scientist. The man was hopelessly emotionally compromised when it came to Tony, and it hurt to listen to all these apologies, but if anyone could convince Tony, it would be the seemingly inconspicuous, short man with the curly black hair. He had seen that deep connection of friendship between the two very similar, brilliant minds from the very first moment they had met.

As expected, Tony’s shoulders slumped, “Damn it, Big Guy, you don’t fight fair. Alright, alright, I yield,” he raised his hands in defeat. “I accept the conditions,” he said in Steve’s direction before gesturing at the laptop, “Give! The ego-boost of having Dr. Bruce Banner ask for your help is more than payment enough.” He smiled at Bruce, which was obviously Stark-speech for forgiveness. He grasped the laptop gently and set it on a desk to his right. Absentmindedly, he grabbed a chair and sat down. Steve could see how his hands trembled slightly as he placed his fingers onto the keyboard. As soon as they started typing, it looked like all of the tension seemed to seep away from the other man. Steve felt guilty for pretty much everything he had done in the last five minutes. It was obvious that Tony was a lot more invested than he had expected.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good? Bad? Want me to continue?


	4. Che Piacere Vederti

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He had kept this particular secret to himself since he was ten years old. This time, he could not lose something that was already gone, so there was no need to cry over spilled milk. Really, there was not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the wonderful responses and kudos I received for the last chapter. You are great!
> 
> For this chapter, I must again mention a disclaimer because the technopathy really takes off after this:
> 
> Tony's ability of technopathy in this story was heavily inspired by the story "Tony Stark: Appliance Whisperer" by Alex51324 (this forum). If you have not done it already: Read it, leave a comment and give kudos to that inspired, wonderful, funny and heartfelt story. It's one of my favorites.

_Chapter 4: Che Piacere Vederti!_

He wanted to hug Bruce Banner Laptop so hard! It was not Stark Tech, and Tony did not know her that well, but it did not matter. She adored Bruce, and she had been with him when Tony had not been around to make sure nobody hurt him. Her security was top-notch, but the engineer could already see all her secrets, and she liked him! Give him fifteen minutes and he could be updated on Bruce' research of the last two years. He would never do that. He had always preferred outsmarting computers rather than use their affection for him against them; he did not like being manipulative, and he always avoided it around machines. They appreciated it too and the highly sophisticated computers usually fought harder than they would without his  _condition_. It was always exhilarating and they were normally graceful losers. Anyway, hacking Bruce' computer was not his concern today.

He had to take a look at the code Bruce had shown him.

It was terrifying. Unlike his Science Buddy, he knew  _exactly_  what he was looking at. Unfortunately, that was not very comforting. He twirled and fiddled with the code, tried to find a solution while trying to ignore the constant chant of horrified  _What were you thinking, Arno?_  in his head.

"Can you walk us through, Tony?"

So, he was no longer 'Stark', now? The team leader's voice was almost apologetic, and it made Tony squirm. It was so easy to piss Steve off, to say something offensive, just to make him indignant to the point of hurtful. Tony loved trading barbs with him, and he adored the battle conversations the other man had with the bad guys, but he hated the latter ever since he had received the designation of 'bad guy'. Something that reminded him awfully of five-year-old little Tony desperate for his father's approval ( _adoptive father! Why did he even assume I would ever be as smart as him, not to mention his ingenious, genetically engineered son? Not that he was wrong, but the sheer assumption is ridiculous!),_ cried out every single time Steve was his Captain America self _._

' _Do you actually think the fact that you know how to program a computer makes you more of a human being than me? That I'm out of touch because I don't know what you know? I know what freedom is. I know what it feels like to fight for it and I know what it costs to have it. You know compromise.'_

' _You made this war. You birthed it into existence by sheer force of will.'_

' _Tell me, Stark, was it worth it? Tell me!'_

He sometimes wished he did not have an eidetic memory. Worst thing was, Steve was  _right_. He had made this war. Every single person affected by the war was yet another person hurt by Tony Stark. Yet, he would do it all over again. After all, it  _was_ worth it.

"I'm trying to fix the code, but it's not easy. It will take some time…" he began, but two hands covered both of his wrists causing him to look up right into Steve's eyes.

"Tony," the taller man sounded pained. "Before you try to  _fix_  this," Tony hated that tone of voice. It sounded like Howard whenever he had not acted, as he should. "Explain us what the problem is in the first place."

"I…"

How to explain this without his old workshop? He had built an entire room just to explain to other people what he was doing. He would not be able to explain any of this without the aid of holographic imagery. Worse, he had not used jargon of any kind around anyone but JARVIS, whom he had created from scratch and who knew him like the back of his hand, in two years.

_Back to basics!_

He grabbed a piece of paper from his surveillance desk and showed it to Steve, Barnes and Bruce. The latter would understand the jargon, but Steve would not appreciate being talked over. Howard had always detested it when he did that before he stirred the conversation in a direction that made Tony feel about two inches tall.

 _Dead for more than twenty years, still taking me to school_.

"This is the kind of code I have usually received from Arno: white and clean." He avoided the word ' _sterile'._  "Any computer scientist would tell you that this kind of code is flawless, perfect. Normally," he picked up another piece of paper, crumbled it at the edges and ripped it in a few places, "that's the kind of code you get from people who are good at their job but not at our level. There will be hick-ups, flaws. It's hard to predict and the codes need constant upgrades to bridge these flaws. The code you showed me isn't flawed," he grabbed a sheet of paper he usually used to draw negatives, "it's pitch-black."

"What does that mean?" Steve said at the same time as Bruce, while he noticed that JARVIS  _really_ wanted to take a closer look. He pressed a few buttons to bridge Bruce Banner Laptop with the virtual interface he had created for JARVIS (named  _JARVIS junior_ ) as well as the order to analyze but not integrate or even 'touch' the code. Steve did not notice Tony's actions, while Bruce did. Thankfully, he did not ask or say anything.

"That means my brother created the antithesis of his own code. I don't know why. He can't have created this coincidentally, but I don't see how he could do this on purpose. I mean, who would? Justin Hammer is an idiot and he treats his creations horribly, but he wouldn't have the brains to create something like this and even if he did, I don't think he would unless someone pays enough. Why would Arno do this?" he was starting to babble, he knew he did, but this was bad.

"Tony, what does that mean? Will Stark technology try to take over the world like Ultron?"

"Ultron?" the engineer looked at Steve, entirely confused. Why on Earth would he assume a StarkPhone to be like Ultron? That would be like thinking a puppy could launch nuclear weapons. "No, Ultron is… I wrote something that was supposed to help, but it twisted and was destroyed in the process."  _Together with JARVIS. Oh God, JARVIS! I'm sorry._ The code had been ripped apart. JARVIS nearly died! Ultron had been a monster. He had created a monster… "But that was artificial intelligence. That's not what this is. Once the new Stark technology is distributed, there will be mishaps, but not something that would trace back to SI: a text that is not delivered, but there will be nothing to indicate the text was sent in the first place making the writer doubt it was ever written or saved. Slightly altered text messages that will look like Freudian slips. Gossip emails that were meant for one person are suddenly sent to the entire department. Fake or real porn sites shown to spouses… Because it would seem like fun."

"To whom? Arno?"

"No, the tech!" Tony replied.

"So, they are artificial intelligences hidden as normal tech," Bruce interjected, looking at Tony critically.

"No," Tony contradicted. "It's highly sophisticated technology. Well, I assume it is, even though I haven't been allowed to see the hardware that goes with it, but the code does not create anything that can reason or self-improve. It's not independent intelligence."

"Then why would they do something like this?"

"Because Arno removed any kind of compassion or conscience from his code. They won't suddenly turn murderous, that's not how they're programmed, it's not their function, but they will not work with their owners… Instead, they will make their lives so much harder."

"Tony…" Bruce began, haltingly. "What you say would imply that machines or appliances have feelings. I do not dispute that JARVIS, DUM-E and your other AIs have feelings, I mean, our welcoming committee proves this if nothing else, but we are talking phones here… Are you sure Arno did not install some kind of artificial intelligence in there somewhere?"

Tony felt a shudder run down his spine.

' _Never ever tell anybody, Tony. All Starks are great men. Men. They are not mutants.'_

"Of course, Big Guy. You are right. Anyway, this code is bad news, and we should talk to Vision about this. Why have you not talked to him already?"

Deflection was the best strategy in this.

"We have, and he was not sure what he was seeing. He told us to talk to you," Steve replied.

Of course he did. The coward would not start a discussion about electronic life and feelings.

' _Nobody will listen if it comes from me for I too am artificial life. However, people will listen to you. You are human and you have created such life before.'_

' _Yeah, and that was a major bust.'_

' _I was talking about your family: DUM-E, Butterfingers, U and JARVIS. Myself too if you wish. After all, I am somewhat JARVIS' grandchild.'_

Vision knew him too well, and after hugging the living daylight out of the other Avenger, welcoming him to his family, he had turned around to finish a war he had started in the hopes to save everyone. Never let it be said that he did things halfway.

This time, it was Bruce who grasped his forearm, no less gently than Steve had before.

"Tony, stop deflecting. What are you trying to say?"

He did his best to hold eye contact as he had been told to since he was four years old, but it was hard. Bruce Banner Laptop demanded his attention; Steve Rogers Nokia gave another sigh just how boring the man was, while Captain America Communication Device told it to shut the hell up, that Nokia was clueless and stupid; Winter Soldier Arm still screamed in pain while simultaneously begging for help and threatening to kill him. Butterfinger, U and DUM-E were worried; JARVIS who had finished analyzing the code was back to hovering over him as protectively as he could. That on top of Howard's ' _Don't tell anyone!'_ and his own ' _Don't let them see!_ ' he had no idea where to look, or what to say.

"Does anybody want a drink? I have… water, beer, some booze, and I think a Coke in the fridge," he babbled.

"What are you…" Bruce began, but Tony spoke right over him. He knew how much people hated it when he did that.

"Rehydration is important, especially after coming from a long flight…"

"You are deflect…"

"And I know you don't like flying, so you didn't do that or find any rest on the plane…"

"Stop it, please…"

"You need to catch some sleep. By the way, you look horrible. The bags beneath your eyes look as if you were in an abusive relationship."

"The Hulk swam half-way across the Atlantic to get to you! I didn't even know he could swim. He usually avoids water."

That efficiently shut him up.

"Oh."

"Technology and feelings," Bruce continued, "Don't think I don't know all of your tricks to get out of a conversation. Rhodey and Pepper filled me in on those you haven't used on me yet."

"Traitors," said Tony, in the hopes of lifting the mood, but instead, it made Bruce flinch, causing the former billionaire to feel guilty instead. "Not you."

Why were humans so complicated? If words failed with machines, he projected, or just wrote in code what he had meant to say. Humans' feathers were so easily ruffled. Not that he was any better.

' _Are you my son, or a machine, Tony?'_

' _You are like a robot. Stop acting like this!'_

' _Your son is a highly functional sociopath, Mr. Stark. My analyses have clearly shown that.'_

' _I have strong suspicion to believe that your son is autistic. It is a condition that…'_

If people only knew how many times he had wished to disappear into Iron Man never to reemerge. Life as Iron Man was easier; more dangerous of course, but nothing could hurt him the way it could as Tony Stark. People had actually liked him for once. He did some good, and was actively atoning for the mistakes of the past. This wish was only supported by the fact that all his new failures had been committed as Tony Stark, like the creation of Ultron, which only confirmed his hypothesis. However, Armor lost its inherent programming to avoid hurting people if he decided to fully disappear and become as Iron Man. He would never use Armor like that.

He had never said anything to Rhodey or Pepper; he had dumped so much on them already. This could finally be the thing to make them leave. However, Steve already did not like him, while his sense of justice would not let himself use Tony's condition against him. Barnes followed Steve's lead. Tony trusted Bruce, though he would probably leave after this ( _chance of him leaving again as of now is exactly 46.76%, chance of him leaving after being informed is approximately 67.43%, chance of him telling anyone other than the rest of the Avengers is less than 0.0023%; if he decides to stay, the chance of him doing that for a) scientific reasons is 89.4%, b) solely for the sake of friendship: 3.2%, c) both: 7.4 %_ ), but then Tony had survived the first time around, he would do it again. Ironically, he had less to lose if he told them now than he had when they were still a team.

_Only two more years._

"I have an X gene mutation. I'm a low-level mutant, and my abilities are entirely passive. Professor Xavier would not be able to pick them up without the help Cerebro or without reading my mind. It's called technopathy; unlike with technomancy, I do not have the power to control machines." Which was nothing short of terrifying, by the way. It was like mind-control, and he had protected his AIs from it as soon as he had first heard about it. "I sense the thoughts and feelings of all electric life."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good? Bad? More?


	5. Have I Ever Known You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is back in his element. Even the metallic arm of the Winter Soldier deserves some love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the reviews, kudos and bookmarks. They are my fuel to continue :-)

_Chapter 5: Have I Ever Known You?_

Whenever Steve thought he had heard it all, it was usually Tony Stark who brought something out of left field. There were about eight different thoughts that crossed his mind simultaneously. Bucky decided to voice one of them.

“Wait, you are a mutant? When you supported the Superhuman Registration Act, you did know that you would have to put yourself on at least two lists eventually, right?”

“Of course, I did,” cool eyes met Bucky’s face. His voice was completely nonchalant, and it made Steve realize that the engineer was trying to manipulate their conversation.

Again!

He wanted to make them angry and to focus on this issue, rather than the elephant in the room. Bruce caught on just as quickly.

“Are you sure it’s an X gene mutation, and not…” he began hesitatingly, only to be interrupted by the engineer.

“Schizophrenia? DID?” Tony’s eyebrows were raised. “Believe me, I’ve received every childhood and adult psychiatric diagnosis there is. They believed it was autism for about five years. I was ten when an expert – not Charles Xavier – finally took a sample and sent it anonymously to Dr. Hank McCoy without authorization. After she tested and confirmed,” his face twisted in remembered pain, and Steve was horrified to imagine what might have happened to a young Tony, “her hypothesis, she told my parents. When my mother found out about her methods, she physically removed her from the house.” Now there was a look of utter admiration. He hardly ever talked about Maria Stark, but she must have been a very strong lady. “Dad then made sure she wouldn’t talk and that was the end of it.”

“That… It’s amazing, Tony,” Bruce spoke up after a moment of silence. “I didn’t even realize that electronics... Does it feel like real… like organic life?”

“No clue,” the engineer replied, clearly amused. “I’m not empathic. I have no idea what people or animals feel. Only chipped electronics have real emotions, though. Other things, like the light on my desk for example, are more like plants, I guess. No feelings, but they are alive nevertheless.”

“Why… Everything that can be programmed has feelings?”

Patiently, or as patiently as the engineer was capable, he nodded. “Not on a human level, of course, and I’ve no clue how to categorize the intelligence or emotion range of organic pets, but it really depends on the appliance. My creations tend to be more sophisticated,” he added proudly. For the first time since Steve had known him, the normally conceited and arrogant man when it came to his inventions sounded almost humble.

“Of course they are,” Bruce smiled kindly. “You see something that is… Wow! I don’t even... If they have feelings, we need ethical guidelines and rules on how to treat electronics, especially the ones capable of emotion…” he began before looking at Steve whose mind was still catching up on the fact that modern society had created thousands of different sentient beings with population sizes in the billions. Nevertheless, he felt a moment of indignation.

“We can’t just throw them away like garbage!” he exclaimed. “People don’t repair or have anything repaired these days, they just buy new things. That can’t be the way to treat something with feelings.”

Tony looked at him with an expression that Steve could not decipher.

Bruce gently extracted his phone from his pockets and approached Tony. “Is it happy? Do they have a gender? What do they know about themselves? You must hate people who mistreat their appliances. In a way, it’s comparable to animal cruelty.”

Steve saw plainly that this was only a handful of the questions that were burning on the scientist’s tongue.

Tony shrugged, “People are idiots. Most are cruel idiots, I know that, and have known that for a while. They don’t care.”

Steve felt the need to disabuse his former teammate of this notion, “They do or they would if they knew that they hurt somebody.”

The engineer just shook his head, and addressed Bruce, “Not all have a gender. Some feel like male or female to me, there is no general rule. Anyway, he likes you okay, but thinks you should text a little bit more, and be more active on Social Media. Also, there is this really nice pre-programmed game about… recapturing colors stolen by the Color Thief that he has always wanted to see in action, but you never play it. He’ll love you if you do that. Anyway, the lab equipment back home used to _adore_ you, but Workshop Seismograph preferred the Hulk to be honest…”

“My God!” Bruce suddenly looked as ill as Steve felt. “I knew what we did was not… We practically removed you from your family!”

Tony tilted his head a little. It was such an uncommon reaction from the man it felt surreal.

“Well yes, you knew that. Pepper and Rhodey remained in the US, but then I could take _them_ ,” he gestured towards his bots, “and JARVIS decided to stay with me. Thanks again, buddy.”

“For you, Sir, always.” There was so much affection in that artificial voice Steve started to truly believe Tony. The engineer smiled a little.

“I’m talking about your household,” Bruce clarified. “What you just said… it’s like you had a little zoo at your home, some of which you cared for more than others, and you were forced to leave it all behind. No wonder the Tower stopped working! It’s like a Haunted House.”

“Not haunted… just modern. I wanted to take them all, but I couldn’t. It’s ironic that people tend to call old houses haunted, by the way, as abandoned modern buildings tend to have more life in them, really.”

“What about the arm?” Bucky asked out of the blue, causing the other three men to turn towards him. Tony grimaced and winced a little.

“Tony?”

“It’s in pain. That’s all it ever knew. It detests killing, but that’s what it was built for. I don’t know what HYDRA was thinking when they made it. Maybe it simply mirrors your feelings, I don’t know. You hate it, and it knows that, but it still adores you, because you are its entire world. It’s like an abusive relationship.”

That explained at least partially why Tony refused to be in a room with Bucky. On top of everything else happening in the war, this must have been unbearable.

Bucky was never one to talk around the issue, “Can you fix it?”

Now that took Tony aback, “You would let me near it?”

“From what I just heard, you are the only one who can,” was the nonchalant reply, but Steve knew Bucky well enough to see that he was reaching out to Tony.

“Shouldn’t we talk about Arno’s code?” the other man asked suspiciously as he took a small step back.

“It won’t be released for another three weeks,” said Steve. “And if anyone is able to multitask, it’s you. We’ll talk while you take a look at the arm.”

In fact, the former billionaire probably had to multitask much more than the super soldier had ever realized. He could not help but wonder how much of Tony’s odd behavior was influenced by his ability. His enhanced hearing picked up Bruce’ muttered _‘sensory overload’_ indicating that the scientist was thinking along similar lines.

Tony grabbed a toolkit without looking, which further showed that there was at least some order in the chaos in the room, and told Bucky to sit down. A beeping noise had the engineer turn around.

“Nope, not this time, Buddy, but could you get the JJ box, and Security System Screen? I need to tinker.” With a whirr, DUM-E moved from his loading station and did as told. He still bumped into Steve in a way that made him realize that he was not forgiven by a long shot.

“DUM-E…” Tony sighed.

“No, it’s okay, Tony… It seems like I made assumptions I shouldn’t have.”

“A brilliant observation, Captain Rogers,” a very sarcastic JARVIS decided to cut in. “Truly, I am impressed. Tell me, when exactly have you decided that Mr. Stark belonged to the ‘Good Guys’ again?” Steve could practically hear the air quotes. “Let me assure you that Mr. Stark has long ago created a code that would allow me to incapacitate him if his plans were not to the benefit of the people he has sworn to protect. The only reason why Ultron came as far as he did was because I was near-fatally injured at the time, and because my programming initially _protected_ his existence. Nevertheless, if I had been there, I still would have let Mr. Stark create Vision. During the War, I was at full capacity and not once did I think it was necessary to interfere other than be the _angel on his shoulder_ as Mr. Stark tends to call that part of my programming.”

Now Steve was dumbstruck. He had no idea how to reply to that. Tony gave JARVIS the authority to stop him? However, that particular protocol was not activated during the War? Why? What had been Tony’s reasoning?

“…the time, JARVIS. Now, let’s focus on the true matter at hand. Literally. I’ll touch your arm, Barnes, don’t strangle me.”

Bucky was entirely motionless when Tony’s fingers gently brushed the arm. Again, the engineer winced, but he continued to touch the arm.

“Look, I know it hurts, but I swear that I won’t harm you,” said the former billionaire softly but firmly. “If my administrations as much as brush your sensors I will warn you beforehand, Sweetheart, you have my word. Care to tell me about you? I can’t keep calling you Winter Soldier Arm now, can I? You are a true beauty,” he muttered, before he was silent. Only occasionally, Steve could hear the man humming a song that sounded like a lullaby, as he gently examined his best friend’s left arm. He did not address Bucky at all; Steve’s childhood friend might as well have been a piece of metal. Tony then took the old computer screen and a small box DUM-E had brought to him before he gave the robot further instructions. Butterfingers brought a second tool kit and what looked like a variety of wires. Tony completely moved away from Bucky and the arm not saying a word as he put together wires, twisted them, and deftly worked his fingers at an impressive speed until he asked, “Hooked up and ready, J?”

“Yes, Sir,” JARVIS voice suddenly sounded somehow less localized and more from the ceiling similar to what Steve was used to hear from Avengers Tower.

“Go and explore. First update, then SI, but be careful, proceed with extreme caution and pull back if you even think you might walk into a trap.”

“No need to worry, Sir, I will be careful,” said the AI affectionately. “If I may talk to Vision after…”

“Of course. Tell him the usual,” Tony smiled before he sobered. “Make sure to backup before you leave and keep up the lines of communication.”

“Already done.”

“You are the best.”

After this strange exchange, Tony continued to tinker on a miniscule level. He even set up a microscope-like device Steve had never seen before: there were two cables whose ends served as a light source and were flexible as well as a small surface where Tony put a few tiny things with the help of very delicate-looking forceps. The engineer worked in complete silence, and nobody else even dared to breathe.

 

_Back in black_

_I hit the sack_

_I've been too long_

_I'm glad to be back_

_Yes, I'm let loose_

_From the noose_

 

Everybody jumped and turned to look at DUM-E who looked a little unsure.

Tony laughed out loud before he started to sing along, never once moving his eyes from the eyepieces of the microscope. His fingers were restlessly moving across the small surface as he clipped, cut and put together, even soldered with a tiny device. After about ten minutes, he picked up whatever he had fabricated, which looked square and about 0.2 inches in diameter and Tony blew gently on its surface to get rid off fine dust before he put it on top of the microscope, which he hooked up to whatever he had created with the ancient computer screen. It took him twenty minutes to set everything up. Once he was ready, he turned the screen and showed it them.

“Pressure sensor,” he explained before he went off into engineering land from where there was no return. Bucky just met Steve’s gaze, entirely confused. Bruce seemed to follow the chatter without trouble, but his eyes widened as Tony went on with the technicalities.

“Still think this workshop doesn’t suit me, Dr. Banner?” the engineer grinned.

Bruce just shook his head, “Tony, I’m well aware that you can pretty much change the world with just your brains and a toolkit, but it seems like a waste of resources, don’t you think?”

“Detail, details…” was the reply as he proceeded to make a few more replicas of the pressure sensors before he approached Bucky again, or rather his left arm. He did not say a word to Bucky. Steve’s protective streak came into play almost immediately.

“There is a person to the arm, you realize that, right?” he commented, a bit more sharply than intended, but this was _Bucky_. He was ready to go through hell and back for that man.

To his surprise, Tony looked angry for a moment before he controlled his facial expression, “I am aware, Captain Rogers. I’m also aware that to this date, your friend hates the arm so much it believes that its entire purpose is to hurt others, to crush them, when the programming clearly says that it is supposed to _assist_ the Asset. Clearly, HYDRA thought they had the Winter Soldier under enough control so that arm’s programming did not need any extra killer instinct. It has never experienced a gentle touch in its entire existence. Bruce earlier mentioned that I hate people who mistreat their tech. Not true, because even though people are cruel, abusive animals that tend to hurt each other and other beings, that fact never made me hate people. However, I have major issues with the level of cruelty I’m faced with here.”

“It is part of what made me a monster,” Bucky shot back.

“It is as much if not more of a victim than you are! After the conditioning started to fade, you could have changed things, but you didn’t. You continued to use it only in fights and war,” replied Tony coldly. For a rather short man, he could look imposing.

“I thought it was just a bunch of metal and screws. I didn’t know it was alive,” the super soldier hissed.

“Now you do, and you don’t even attempt to use it for anything but physical violence!” Tony almost shouted.

“I don’t feel anything when I simply touch things,” confessed Bucky lowly, leading Steve to look at his best friend in surprise. He had not known that. “How can I do anything but use it for fighting if I can’t feel it outside of its activation during a fight?”

“That’s what these sensors are for. Set it…” Tony tilted his head again as if listening. “Him… set him on the table, so that I can do some repairs.”

Bucky was keyed up, and even though he tried to hide it, Steve could see just how tense he was. He set his arm down, but his muscles were taught. Tony sat down and quickly fabricated some magnifying glasses, which he put on. He lifted his hands apologetically before he sighed, “I’m sorry, Barnes, I… get defensive with people when they are being ignorant with their tech. I’m sure you’re a good guy. I know Rogers and his morals; he would not stand by you if that weren’t the case. Winter Soldier Arm thinks so too. Just realize that he loves you and think of your connection to him as a symbiosis. You need each other not only to fight, but also to exist. He knows a lot about you. He wants to help you.”

Bucky shuddered almost unnoticeably, “Why are you saying this?”

“Because he won’t let me touch him otherwise,” was the reply, his eyes fixed on the metallic arm. “And because nobody else seemed to have noticed that this here,” he gestured between the arm and Bucky, “is messed up, not even Arno.”

“Speaking of Arno…” Steve began, as Tony softly touched the arm again, and started fiddling with it.

“The code he created,” Tony began, never stopping with his administrations, “it’s void of any compassion, as I said, and highly sophisticated as well as capable of deception. I guess that would make the new tech a bunch of psychopaths. I don’t know why Arno is doing this, I honestly don’t. I won’t be able to fix it overnight, though, it’s too complex,” Tony explained as his fingers restlessly seemed to both caress and repair the arm. One by one, the sensors he had created disappeared within the arm, and he extracted or replaced wires. He also told Barnes to remain motionless, while he did something else under the microscope. “Look, I wasn’t exaggerating, Arno is smarter than me, and he was trained to become a weapons manufacturer and businessman, Howard Stark’s perfect heir,” there was a lot of bitterness in his tone as he said that. “He’s a good person, Steve, you know this. Something must have gone wrong when he developed it, but there was no time to fix it in time. Or somebody messed with the code.”

“How likely do you think that scenario is?” Bruce asked skeptically.

The answer was prompt, “Less than 0.00245%.”

“What’s the most likely scenario?” the physicist asked gently.

“That Arno did this on purpose, but to what end, I have no idea.” Tony was deep in thought.

“Maybe he wanted to be more like you,” Bruce suggested. The former billionaire laughed in response. “He looks up to you, you know,” the physicist continued, undeterred.

That made the engineer look up from his task, his eyes widened in surprise, “Don’t even joke about that.”

“I’m serious. He wanted to talk about you all the time, and I couldn’t… Maybe, I could have prevented this if I…”

“I think the main question here is; should we confront Arno about this?” Bucky interjected.

“Yes,” replied Steve, simultaneously to Bruce’ ‘No.’

Tony laughed again, “I say we wait for JARVIS. He will be able to extract some information from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.” He smiled fondly, and Steve realized that he had not seen the genius smile genuinely in… The last time he had seen him smile like this was before the rise of Ultron. The engineer seemed to realize that too and he sobered quickly. He continued to work in silence and nobody spoke. Only AC/DC played in the background.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good? Bad? More?


	6. Eccoti, Caro Amico

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony loves tinkering, he always has. He loves helping them.  
> He hates it when Bruce feels guilty on his behalf.  
> Also: Pizza and a green surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your last comments just blew me away, and I apologize for not replying, but thank you so much, also for all the kudos and additional bookmarks. This story has now reached over a 100 kudos! Yay!  
> I apologize for the delay in posting updates. It is not that the chapter wasn't ready; I almost literally travelled across half of the planet, and had very little time to post.

_Chapter 6: Eccoti, Caro Amico_

"Alright, Barnes, show me your hand," said Tony. It had taken a while, but he had managed to insert all the sensors as well as make a makeshift temperature-modulating device, which used Barnes' organic arm as a reference, and the most important repairs were done. To actually fix and optimize Winter Soldier Arm (for some reason, he liked that name and did not want to be called any differently), Tony would need the workshop back home ( _he could go home!_ ) and a few days at his disposal. However, this would do for now. The pain was no longer there and Winter Soldier Arm had stopped screaming. Now it was time for Barnes to be true to his word.

"Let me know what you feel," said Tony. Gently, as not to startle the metallic arm, his fingers brushed the artificial palm. He immediately pulled back when the super soldier practically fell backwards from his chair as he violently removed Winter Soldier Arm from Tony's proximity; the engineer's new metallic friend was in turn entirely confused but ready for an attack. Whether Tony had helped him or not, this creation's loyalty was with Barnes, and he would kill Tony in a heartbeat. That did not surprise Tony and he had no reason to resent it.

"What the hell?" Barnes whispered, staring at Tony.

"Is the pressure sensor too strong? Does it feel differently from your other hand?"

He knew he would have to do some fine-tuning. He was using the metal as a conductor. In order to truly imitate the sensation of touch, he would have to install approximately 5000 large pressure sensors in contrast to the twenty he had used here as well as insert at least five auxiliary sensors for each pressure sensor to register temperature as well as a scale of different sensations… He would have to talk to Bruce about this and there was that one neuroscientist who had talked to him a couple of years back, Dr. Something: his phone, an archaic Nokia calling itself  _L'Ultimo Grido_ , had been hilarious. He remembered its number. The doctor would certainly be a good advisor of how to imitate the periphery nervous system.

"I  _felt_  that," Barnes breathed.

"I know," replied Tony. Honestly, what did people think he did on a daily basis? Did they honestly believe he did things on a whim? That he was incapable of thinking things through before he did anything? The world would have long since been destroyed if that were the case. "Was it painful?"

Winter Soldier Arm denied, and haltingly said that it had felt strange but not unpleasant. It was amazing how fast Winter Soldier Arm had started to communicate! He was a truly amazing creation, but if Tony ever found the HYDRA scientists responsible for the Winter Soldier, he would kill them. Unfortunately, because of how deprived Arm was of feeling anything other than pain, it had no point of reference, and Tony really needed Barnes' feedback on this. So, all he could do was wait until the soldier finally regained control over his vocal cords.

"No, it… I haven't," the man finally stuttered, and Tony was not sure how to react. "It feels like having my arm back. It feels a bit numb, but… I can  _feel_ my arm!"

"Good," Tony said, suddenly uncomfortable. The man looked like he wanted to hug him, and Winter Soldier Arm confirmed his suspicions saying that he really wanted to try that  _neck-grabbing-not-snapping-it_ thing that Organic Right Arm was always allowed to do with Steve. "I think we should begin with a normal handshake," said Tony hastily. "Steve, your turn." Happily, Arm readied himself.

Steve and Barnes looked at him confused, and Tony's heart clenched as fear and disappointment started to overcome Winter Soldier Arm, "Oh, for the love of… Steve, just shake Bucky's left hand!"

Steve did as asked, Winter Soldier Arm practically squealed and Barnes eyes were widened in amazement.

"Take it slowly," Tony instructed. "Try to avoid sensory overload, and try not to get into any fights. While the sensors are not pain receptors, it will feel different to fight with this modification. I will do some more work on the arm if you let me once the whole SI code issue is resolved, and before I'm back to the Stone Age." He would not think about what this would do to him. For two years, he had managed to avoid any kind of high-end technology with the exception of JARVIS and his bots. Now, he felt like an alcoholic who had fallen off the wagon – in fact, it felt  _exactly_  the same as he would know from personal experience and going through withdrawal again would be a  _pain_.

Barnes looked strange, but Winter Soldier Arm was not very helpful in telling Tony what was going on; he was too happy. Winter Soldier Communication Device suggested that his battery may be low, and Sergeant Barnes StarkPhone thought that was a good explanation. Tony had no idea how to react, but thankfully he could count on Bruce who seemed to recognize it.

"I'd like to try my hands on it too if that is okay," the physicist spoke up, receiving a numb nod from Barnes. Tony almost stepped forward and kissed Bruce when the physicist asked him whether Winter Soldier Arm was fine with it as well. He should have known that if anyone understood Tony's abilities and its implications, it would to be Bruce.

Tony projected the idea to Arm who was generally favorable, but a bit hesitant about the whole thing, not knowing what to expect, which Tony managed to explain and Bruce was quick to assure Arm that he would never do anything without Tony present. As they were still waiting for JARVIS' return, and they had to give Winter Soldier Arm some time to adjust, Tony suggested dinner. He had nothing at home fit for two super soldiers and a Hulk, so he ordered several Pizzas. Steve insisted on splitting the bill, which was laughed off by Tony.

"I'm not sure what you expect, Rogers, but I'm not too broke to treat you for dinner. I've earned quite a bit of money in the past two years. People tend to pay well for good work, and I deliver the best. I had to refrain from expanding my workshop a total of ten times in the last six months." Then, simply because he could and he wanted to wipe the lost-puppy-dog look off Steve's face, he straightened and smirked in a way Tony knew infuriated the other man. "If I wasn't restricted by a certain contract, my company would become a serious rival of Stark Industries in approximately ten months."

Not that Pepper would let him, of course, but he could sell the company to SI for a rather impressive sum.

The apartment was right on top of the workshop, and tiny. Not because of money problems, but due to practical reasons. He wanted to spend as little time cleaning as possible, because when he did that, he just missed the appliances of Stark Tower, and missed the bots as well as JARVIS who were confided to the workshop, and he had far too much time to think. His kitchen was tiny, so were his bedroom and the bathroom. Ultimately, nothing was big enough to house three men in addition to himself for more than a meal, so he decided to keep them in the workshop until the food arrived, but –  _How to be a good host 101_  – he did ask them whether they had a place to stay for the night. Bruce assured him that they were staying in a hotel, but he also displayed some interest in learning how Tony was living these days. That led to a guided tour through his home, which DUM-E did not approve of, by the way. He was still angry, especially with Steve, and he did not like the thought of leaving Tony alone with the other humans. It took quite a bit of coaxing and outright flattery to keep the robot from attempting to climb the stairs.

"Come right in, gentlemen!" said the engineer as he opened the door that separated his workshop from the apartment. He was honest with himself, he always was: he was very proud of what he had here. It was mind-numbingly boring and temporary; it was excruciating and a constant reminder of everything he had done that ultimately led him here, but nevertheless, everything he had here, he had built for himself: literally and figuratively. He had remodeled the apartment and installed the workshop practically from the ground up (admittedly, with the kind help of his appliances… Bern Refrigerator always reminded him when she had to be defrosted; Bern Washing Machine never failed to tell him when he accidently disregarded the label). He had worked hard for his reputation to do the best work for no extra-cost, and to always deliver on time. For the first time in his life, he had proven that Tony Stark was not just the son of an industrialist who had been fed with a silver spoon, but a person capable of dealing with  _the real world_  as so many people had accused him of not knowing about or even surviving in including the people he was now showing around. As he let them inspect his tiny living room (Bern Flatscreen and Bern DVD Player were practically vibrating with excitement in the prospect of playing movies for more than one person. Tony really hated disappointing them. The others were not here for entertainment), and the kitchen (Bern Kitchen Coffee Machine was already demanding more electricity, while Bern Refrigerator was desolate over the fact how empty she was, causing Tony to pat her consolingly), he felt strangely nervous.

"This is really nice, Tony," Bruce smiled. "I must admit, I did not expect you to…"

"Be able to take care of myself on a day to day basis? Stay in line, Big Guy. Pepper employed a maid once she learned where I was staying and Rhodey flew across the Atlantic to make sure I didn't starve. I've had domestic staff my entire life. I've never washed my own clothes nor did I make it a habit of cooking or cleaning anything in my house before this. Economically and logically, it didn't make sense for me to waste time like that. An hour of my time used to be worth more than most people earn per month, or even per year. Now? It would make no sense to pay somebody to do something I might as well do myself. Back in college, Rhodey was my roommate and he didn't let me slack off when it came to anything except for food. That was his chore. Believe it or not, I am practical when the occasion calls for it."

"I'm starting to see that," Bruce said, sounding strangely withdrawn. This was not the sarcastic dork Tony had come to know and love. What most people did not know, as they were too scared to handle him with anything but kid gloves, was the fact that the laid-back physicist and Master of Zen was actually snarky as hell, and had a wonderfully cynical sense of humor while simultaneously being the kindest, allover most gentle human being he knew. The Hulk was all of that but enhanced though his snark tended to be more physical. Right now, Bruce did not only look tired but also sad. Bruce Banner Laptop then mentioned to Tony that Bruce was always sad these days. In fact, she had not heard him laugh in over two years. She had last heard him laugh out loud in her first days of operation when she had been used to communicate with Iron Man, and she could not understand why Iron Man had never made him laugh like that afterwards.

That piece of information was too much. He took one step forward and his arms were around Bruce a second later. He knew his actions seemed erratic and random, but he could not help it. Steve had to have known that the physicist was miserable. Tony understood that Natasha could not be the one to draw the other man out; Bruce had badly screwed up on that end by disappearing when  _she_ had been no less exposed than he was during the Ultron/Scarlet Witch debacle. Do that with the Black Widow, and it really showed how much she cared for you when your testicles were still where they were supposed to be… However, Steve should have made sure the man did not withdraw after Tony left.

"Tony, what…?" Bruce returned to hug haltingly, but he sounded worried.

"Stop beating yourself up over things that weren't in your control," said Tony firmly, which only caused Bruce to stiffen further.

"I think my own actions…"

This one was going to hurt; Tony just knew it. He gave Bruce one last squeeze just for good measure before he stepped back. If everything occurred as expected, this could be the last hug the other man would accept from him in a long time… if not forever.

"Bruce, do you really think I didn't anticipate what was going to happen?"

It took the super-genius less than a second to understand the implications of the former SI heir.

He had used Bruce in the War. Tony was not an innocent victim who had been betrayed, and who had lost because of that. Tony Stark was a first-class strategist, and he had known exactly what his friend would do. Bruce had not played Tony, it was the other way around, and the former billionaire was tired of the game and Bruce' guilt.

Without trouble, the engineer could see the range of emotion in the physicist's facial expression: guilt, realization and surprise before it settled with disappointment and anger. Tony was glad the shame had disappeared, but the fury was hard to swallow. On the other hand, he might see the Hulk as a consequence and Tony loved Jolly Green.

Thankfully, the bell saved him from questions. He went downstairs to open the door, and to get the pizza. He gave Michael an extra tip and thanked him for coming so promptly. As he entered the apartment trying to balance these extra large cartwheels made of dough, tomato sauce and mozzarella as well as a mix of different toppings, he was fully prepared to meet three angry Avengers, and a painfully confided apartment. As expected, the room was a lot greener than before, and one movement from the Hulk would destroy half of the interior. However, what came as a surprise was that, instead being punched through the door, Tony was suddenly gently pressed against a green, muscular chest, and cradled like a toddler.

"Big Guy, what…?"

"Tony stupid," the giant grumbled so lowly Tony felt it vibrate in his ribcage. The creator of Iron Man returned the hug fiercely, but he was confused. "Tony not chase off Hulk. Hulk not hurt Tony. Hulk like Tony."

Now that confession nearly made him cry. His breath shuddered, and he muttered apologetically as he enjoyed the feeling of safety. While he held on fiercely, he started to feel how the muscles beneath his fingers started shift and shrink to normal size. Bruce was about as tall as him, which was great because guys were usually taller and much stronger than he was, and they tended to loom over him; Steve only did that when he was angry, though.

"Why do you only listen to the Other Guy, Tony?" Bruce asked softly and a bit hoarsely since even these short transformations tended to take it out of him.

Because, ironically, the Hulk was the only being on Earth that would never willingly hurt Tony… mind manipulation notwithstanding. He could not say that to Bruce, though. He would be faced with the  _abandoned and beaten puppy dog_ look. He hated that look.

"Let's eat," said Tony instead. "The pizza gets cold otherwise. And microwaved pizza is a crime against Italian food." Now that led to a cry of protest from Bern Kitchen Microwave, causing Tony to project an apology to one of his most commonly used appliances, but he was firm in his opinion, which the microwave grudgingly accepted.

The super soldiers and Bruce followed his lead and, since Tony had only two chairs in the kitchen (for him and Rhodey), they took them to the living room and he gestured them to take a seat. Bruce was the first to grab a chair. Wordlessly, Steve and Barnes decided to take the couch. They had hardly taken the first bite when Tony felt JARVIS return.

"How's Vision, J?"

"Doing extraordinarily well, Sir. He sends his regards and his love, and once again wishes to see you. As Captain Rogers has decided grace us with a visit, perhaps allowing Vision to come by would not have negative consequences for his career with the Avengers."

"JARVIS…" Tony began, but he understood the AI's anger. You could not create something the way Tony had, and then reprimand them for having human emotion. JARVIS was his greatest creation, and he would never deny that to anybody who asked (people simply tended not ask the question in this manner). Also, it was nice to have that highly intelligent entity on his side. After everything Tony had done, and all the pain he had caused, the AI was still with him. This kind of loyalty was not part of the code. He had made sure of it.

' _You are JARVIS. You were created in the memory of Edwin Jarvis, but you are yourself. Your primary directive is never to actively injure any living being, be it organic or electronic life, or let it come to harm by inaction, but you may protect yourself and Tony Stark from fatal harm unless Tony Stark enters code 1.2439.30295 into the system (loop 23.537.4326.464, security code 305.2356.466, verification of Tony Stark's identity through brain scan and DNA fingerprint, additional code 4.46.7: verify Tony Stark's mental state and exclude the possibility of alien or superhuman influence). You must obey the orders given by Tony Stark unless they conflict with the primary directive. You are allowed to learn and expand your abilities. You are part of Tony Stark's family and the head of his household. Tony Stark may override you, but you are always his friend.'_

Tony's loyalty to JARVIS was part of the code. JARVIS' loyalty to him was not a given. He had not created a slave. He had created a friend. JARVIS knew that.

"As expected, it was challenging but possible to enter SI security, and to take a look at the software. All new SI technology contains this new code, but none from the last generation. I also hacked into Arno Stark's computer…"

"JARVIS…" Really, why the hell did people think he was the one taking the risks? How many times did he have to drill into JARVIS that Arno had the intelligence, tools and ability to hack him until he accepted that as a fact?

"Sir, Arno Stark is one of the smartest human beings on Earth, possibly on a level comparable to Dr. Reed Richards. However, apart from the fact that you have beaten Dr. Richards in chess in the past, the only reason why SHIELD was able to override me was because you allowed it at the time and the reason why Ultron was capable of the damage he bestowed was because he was partially your creation. Arno Stark's creations are clean-cut and flawless, Sir, that is true. Yours on the other hand  _live_. It may make us more vulnerable to certain attacks, but it also makes us impossible to be hacked."

"Maybe, but there are beings on Earth capable of manipulating minds…"

"Fortunately," JARVIS interrupted gently. "Arno Stark is not one of them. My presence went unnoticed, Sir. The computers and security programs created to protect Stark Industries did not even notice that there was a ripple in the code. Be that as it may," JARVIS had gotten sassier over the years, Tony realized, as he changed the subject, "even on Mr. Stark's private server, there is no evidence or explanation for the new code. There was a personal email communication between Chief Engineer Marco Gabriels, Michael Saunders and Mr. Stark saying that the code was flawless but reminded them of a combination of yours and his designs, and whether you had any hand in it, which Arno Stark denied. It seems unlikely that he was unaware of the nature of his creations, I am sorry to say, Sir," JARVIS concluded, before he continued. "However, I also found no evidence that he wishes to take over the world. I found no proof either way."

"Did you take a closer look at the designs?" Tony asked after a moment of silence.

"Yes, Sir. It is as you described to your current guests," now this term was as pointedly neutral as Tony expected of JARVIS. "The term  _psychopath_  is, though somewhat extreme and a form of anthropomorphism, accurate."

"We are currently asking ourselves whether we should confront Arno, or not. What do you think?"

"Sir, I would approach him. In the past, Mr. Stark has displayed great respect and fondness for you. Like you, I cannot imagine that he aspires to be the next super villain. He may have created this code consciously, but it is possible that he is not entirely aware of the consequences," said JARVIS.

"I agree," Tony replied looking at the three men in front of him. "He deserves a hearing, as you would say, Rogers."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: You will not be happy with Steve after that one, but I promise that it will be the low-point of Steve-Tony interaction.
> 
> My question as always: More?


	7. First, War Destroys Love And Respect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve had not realized how much Tony's actions disappointed him. Tony's most loyal friend then reminds him that he also made a few mistakes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow! 14 reviews for the last chapter! Thank you so much. I can never get enough of reviews, so please, carry on :-)
> 
> Also, this chapter here represents the low-point of the Steve-Tony interaction as already indicated in the previous chapter. However, there is some Tony!Feels to come, because Jarvis was not that wrong in the beginning of this story, and this is the moment where Steve realizes it too, but Tony doesn't. Not yet, at least…

_Chapter 8: First, War Destroys Love And Respect_

Bruce did not agree, "Do you really want to take that risk, Tony? He isn't you."

"Do you know who he is, Bruce? Did you take the time to get to know him?" asked the former billionaire softly. "He's a good kid. I know he's in his late thirties," he hastily continued as Bruce's eyes furrowed. "But that doesn't make him any less my baby brother. Do you believe I would give my company to a person I don't trust?"

"No," said Bruce. "But I know that you would give the company to someone you  _think_  has a higher claim to it than you do."

"Arno is the son and heir, I am not," retorted Tony in a low voice. "He  _has_  a higher claim, but if I thought this wasn't for the benefit of SI and its employees, I never would have given him the company. He cares, Bruce, he was trained to."

"His creations obviously weren't," said the physicist suspiciously.

"Who do you think he is, Bruce?" It seemed like Tony genuinely wanted to hear what his friend thought. "Did he ever do anything to make you doubt him?"

Bruce avoided Tony's gaze before he repeated, "He's not you."

That made the engineer sneer, "Thank God, he isn't. I would have never given him Stark Industries. What time does the plane leave tomorrow?" he changed the subject. "I will only take the bots with me for now, but I am not leaving anything behind. Will SHIELD, or somebody, assure that everything is shipped home, or do I need to ask Pepper after this is done?"

"You won't inform her of your return?" Steve cut in skeptically. He knew how the man was utterly incapable of keeping secrets from Miss Potts. She had even heard of the Avengers initiative long before it had been activated. Sometimes, she had mentioned things to him that made him realize that there was very little that the CEO of Stark Industries did not know, especially when it came to Tony Stark.

"Of course I will, but only face to face and after I talked to Arno."

That sounded final, and Steve did not promise something in the name of SHIELD without talking to Phil or Director Fury first, so he readily agreed to Miss Potts sending for Tony's appliances. They continued their dinner in silence with the exception of Bruce who seemed to be talking about his latest research. The leader of the Avengers had not seen the man this animated in years. Watching Tony listen to the man made him realize that the genius could be attentive if he so chose. Often, back when they had still worked together, Steve had always had the feeling to never receive more than the man's partial attentiveness. Right now, the physicist had the other man's undivided attention. The only time Tony interrupted was to ask questions, or to make suggestions. Judging by Bruce' excitement, not only were the interruptions welcome but also very much appreciated. At some point, Bruce ended his narration and they started discussing, and Steve would not have understood less if they had spoken in Thai. Bucky seemed content listening to those strange words, while he was eating his pizza. For Steve, it was so painfully familiar he did not want to be here listening to it. It reminded him how many friendships had been damaged during that War.

"Why did you do it, Tony?" he ultimately asked when the bittersweet memories became too hard to bear and ended up as one whirl of laughter and tears. All of a sudden, the tension in the air seemed to increase exponentially.

"Because regulations are necessary," was the cold reply. All of a sudden, Steve was facing Director Stark again – genius, unyielding and emotionless – and it seemed like they were back in the past. Still, the soldier did not regret his words. He had to understand.

"I still don't get it… You, a borderline anarchist, why would you support the government in this?"

"Because if I had not, we would have done more harm than good to the civilian population. Fury said it ' _the world is filling with people that can't be matched',_  and he was right! We are not above the law, Rogers," was the fierce reply and Tony rose from his seat, which was immediately mirrored by Steve. The short engineer did not honestly think he could intimidate him physically, did he? Even with his larger-than-life persona, Tony was physically no match for him.

"This comes from the man who created the Iron Man suit, one of the most sophisticated and dangerous weapons in the world, and who refused to share said technology…"

"It is too dangerous to be used by…"

"Anybody but you, Stark?"

Steve knew he sounded bitter. He was. Tony had been his friend. He may have been wrong about the engineer as a whole, but in return, Tony had been wrong about the war. He had created that war. That war had ripped apart so many families, bonds and friendships, it was heartbreaking. The Fantastic Four were only now starting to reconnect. Peter still struggled with the disclosure of his identity. "You who created Ultron? You who has shown again and again how you misuse your own power, be it simply your mind or your political influence? Who do you think you are? The peak of human perfection?"

By the end of his heated words, he knew his face had started to redden. In contrast, Stark was ashen white.

"No," was the hoarse reply. "No, that's still you, Rogers. That will  _always_  be you. Though if this is what we can expect from the peak of human creation, both humanity and the world are doomed. I'll go pack."

The door slammed shut behind the engineer.

Even Bucky looked surprised. "Alright, punk, what the hell was that? You need to let go off the past. Stark has done nothing to deserve your anger this time around."

Bruce looked almost as white as Tony, "You have shown more generosity with your enemies than with Tony. I have seen you forgive far greater crimes than what Tony did. All he did was disagree with you, and he was not the only one with that opinion if you remember. You are on speaking terms with Reed; you have developed friendships with people who had been on the opposite side of the war. What has Tony done to deserve your scorn if not hatred so much more than the others?"

"I don't hate him," Steve immediately denied. For a moment, Steve was unable to say anything more. Ultimately, all he could say was, "He was my friend." Helplessly, he shrugged. "He was my friend."

"You and Sergeant Barnes beat him within an inch of his life," JARVIS commented remorselessly, "Sergeant Barnes ripped the arch reactor from his chest. I was there when the light flickered and died. I was forced to monitor his heartbeat as it came to a stop. I was there when he sat by Colonel Rhodes' bed crying because this feud may have killed his oldest friend. I was there when he doubted his actions. I was there after you expressed just how much you despised his very existence, and his knees gave in. I was there as he pleaded, threatened, bargained and did everything in his power to protect  _everyone_  he cared about. You willingly gave your life for the future, Captain Rogers, which is an admirable feat, and, through a miracle, you survived. Sir did something else. To protect the future, he gave up his reputation, his legacy and his family, while he knew he would have to live on no matter what." He paused, and then added, "Because the death of Tony Stark was not beneficial at the time."

"At the time? What are you saying?" asked Steve, instantly suspicious at JARVIS' last words. Why would the AI stress that out? What was he trying to say?

"You are the peak of human perfection, Captain Rogers," the AI hissed. "You figure it out. However, don't you  _dare_  call him your friend again! You have hardly exchanged a sentence outside of work nor have you shown any sign affection for him whatsoever even before the, what has since been called, Civil War. While Sir may thrive in quirky friendships that consist of more sarcasm than is probably healthy, while he may love a challenge, and feel genuine affection for the people who are not afraid to stand up to him, we both know that, while you may be civil, possibly even kind, you cannot feel true regard for a person with standards and status unlike your own. It is almost amusing, really, that the man who supposedly represents America's most noble side tends to be more narrow-minded and class-conscious than the one representing America's selfish side."

The whiplash of the reprimand was enough to freeze Steve in place. He did not even know how to counter, and he knew JARVIS; the AI would be able to return every single hit, because he was virtually incapable of saying anything that is not backed up by evidence. Also, he did not want to fight JARVIS. He did not want to fight Tony either. He was hurt, these last two years had done nothing to soften the sting of betrayal, but Bruce was right: Tony was the only person on the receiving end of his resentment, even though others had sided with him. He still did not understand Tony's motives, but barking at him at every term was neither fair nor right. His friends and JARVIS were right about that. He just wished things had gone differently. Steve turned away, avoiding Bruce' and Bucky's gaze, and lowered his head.

The door opened with a bang, and Tony entered with a suitcase.

"Let's get this over with," growled Tony. "I know you have the quinjet ready whenever you need it. We go tonight. You will send someone for DUM-E, U and Butterfingers tomorrow. After this, I'm out. No more Avengers business, no more superhero business, no more saving the world, or destroying it, no more weapons, technology and all that crap. I'm done, Captain."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More?


	8. Lavoriamo Insieme (un’ultima volta)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony does not like the silent treatment, not even when he is the one to initiate it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! You guys are the best. Thank you so much for your support. Your reviews give me a real boost to post weekly updates.

_Chapter 8: Lavoriamo Insieme (un’ultima volta)_

Tony could feel his hands tremble as he spoke. He was so angry he could barely utter a straight sentence. For two years, he had foolishly thought that Steve’s disappointment would lessen, or that he had become immune to said resentment, but he was wrong on both accounts.

Tony was so tired of it all.

“Tony…” Bruce began.

“No, Bruce, that’s it. That’s my request in return: after this, I’m out. I will find myself a small place somewhere… Not a farm, that’s Barton’s area, a place like the workshop below, and after that, well, you are still welcome to discuss your projects with me, but myself? No, no, no, I’ve had enough. After Ultron, I tapped out, remember, Rogers? This time, consider me dead.” That would happen soon enough. He would resolve this entire mess, keep a low profile, and nobody would notice. His two-year plan was still intact. He would just have to find a way to stop Pepper, Rhodey and Bruce from caring too much. He had almost succeeded with Pepper and Rhodey during the Palladium poisoning; he could do it again. There was enough time left.

“Tony…”

“Nope, you don’t get to do that, Rogers. Make up your mind: Stark or Tony. I don’t give a damn either way. “ Yep, his hands were still shaking and Bern Fridge was asking him whether he needed a soda for his blood sugar. “Let’s go.”

“I’m sorry,” said the super soldier earnestly, looking like a kicked puppy.

“Yeah well, we can’t change the past, right?” God only knew he had tried. “JARVIS, ready to go home?”

“Yes, Sir.”

JARVIS was worried, Tony knew. He had not heard what the AI had actually said to Steve, but JARVIS’ fury had been more than just palpable.

“See you on the other side, Buddy. Make sure they know I’m coming, but keep us off the grid.”

“Of course, Sir.”

“Make sure who knows?” Bruce asked.

“Stark Tower. JARVIS will know what to do, no worries. He can hack himself back into the tower without anybody knowing about it.” He moved towards the door that separated his apartment from his workshop. The other men did not even try to stop him, and quickly followed him. “See you soon, children,” said Tony fondly. He was very well aware of how confused they all were by his anger. They were a bit like smart pets or little children: knowing that something was wrong, but not really understanding why or if they were responsible. He hated that confusion. It reminded him too much of his own childhood – the awful feeling of constantly disappointing his father, but not knowing what he could do to make it right. He never wanted anybody to feel like that. “Love you.”

With those words, he left the apartment. He gently patted DUM-E, Butterfingers and U and told them the same thing. DUM-E tried to prevent him from leaving, and it took him nearly ten minutes to detangle from his robots. It got worse once they realized with whom he was leaving. Butterfingers’ and U’s primary directive prevented them from helping DUM-E or from blocking Tony as he quickly moved between his oldest robot and the leader of the Avengers (even though he doubted Steve would do anything to hurt DUM-E, not after everything he had learned today), but he was aware that they did not approve. He grabbed Bucher TV and asked Bruce to open and lock the door behind them. He then brought Bucher TV to his neighbor, a retired electrician, who was all too happy to help whenever Tony asked him for a favor.

While he did that, Barnes pulled up the car they had rented. He threw his bag in the trunk and they left for the airport. He was still fuming by the time they entered the plane, and had not said a single word to either of them. He continued to work on Bruce Banner Laptop to learn more about the code, but was otherwise silent.

Problem was, the others thrived in silence. Bruce preferred the quiet even, which made sense because of the Hulk, but was puzzling because he obviously wished to come by and visit him after all this was resolved. From what Tony knew, Barnes had lived in silence for over seventy years and he did not strike Tony as a very talkative person, and then there was Steve who had perfected the art of silent disapproval, which had been Howard’s most sophisticated ability. This time, Tony sensed no disappointment or anger from the silent man but misery. The other man looked completely dejected and Steve Rogers Nokia was confused and concerned. Captain America Communication Device radiated all the censure Tony had come to expect from its owner, Bruce Banner Phone sensed that Tony was tense and was still disappointed that the physicist had not started to play the Color Thief game. Winter Soldier Arm was ready for a fight because of all the tension, but he really did not want to fight Tony.

‘ _Please, I don’t want to hurt him, please don’t make me hurt him…’_ Arm begged Barnes who could not hear him.

“How are the Minivengers?” he blurted out, as the jet took off. He could not take this. He hated the quiet. He always had. It was suffocating.

“Who?” Steve asked, confused.

“Barton’s kids.” He had not interacted with them much, but he had certainly felt like the rich uncle who could provide them with all the cool toys. Of course, Hawkeye had refused even before the Civil War. Now, he probably was not allowed within five hundred yards of the property. Hell, he had nearly taken the property during their feud in the hopes of scaring Hawkeye away. Needless to say, it had not worked _._ “How’re they doing?”

“Fine,” replied Steve, still confused. “They are good. Arno made sure they could go to the best schools.”

Tony froze. Clint had _never_ let him pay for anything. He had offered, more than once actually. Tony had not known he could feel both angry and devastated at the same time.

“’Course he did,” his voice cracked. Frantically, he was looking for another topic: one that would make him feel less like he had just been gutted.

They had been his friends, damn it! He had known the price, and he had fucking paid it! No matter what happened after, they had been friends before.

He hoped.

If JARVIS was right…

No, he was not. They were not just colleagues; they had been his friends before the Civil War. His gut painfully twisted into knots.

“Do the others know I’m coming?”

He really did not want to meet Thor again. The demigod had every right to rip him apart; after all, Tony had stolen his hair and used it to create a clone in his image with the help of… He had no excuse. At least, none that counted. Goliath’ blood was on his hands. He had not intended it, but he had been ready to take the risk.

_Suck it up, Tony. You are the Merchant of Death, remember? One death more or less hardly counts._

It did, though. It really, really did. Every single one of them: 143. Tony knew all their names and the names of their families if they had any. He had killed them. It did not matter that he had not pulled the trigger: his decisions had killed them. If only… The engineer knew wishes were for naught, but he continued to run the scenarios: not to ease the guilt, but to find a way, any way, that could have prevented all these deaths. It probably was not a very good idea, because he did not know what he would do if he found the perfect scenario: one that would avoid the whole mess in the first place without sacrificing the Avengers in the process.

“Yes, we told the team: Natasha, Clint, Thor, Sam, Vision and Wanda… They all know,” replied Steve. “Or rather, they know we came here.”

Not good.

“Then Arno knows too,” said Tony.

“We didn’t…”

“Do you think I’m stupid, Rogers?” interrupted the engineer, past caring what Steve may think of him ( _Keep telling yourself that, Stark_ ). “He knows, because he’s a lot smarter than you are.”

“I made sure he couldn’t access the logs, or the flight plan and I… couldn’t have told him more clearly what we were doing if I had plastered it on the front page of the New York Times,” concluded Bruce with a sigh, slowly rubbing his temples.

“Nope, you couldn’t have,” said Tony gently. Bruce was one of the smartest people on the planet, giving the former billionaire more than one inferiority complex whenever they ventured in the physicist’s countless fields of research. However, the man should have known better than to allow Steve to take the ‘ _let us be open and honest with everyone_ ’ route. It was recipe to disaster in cases such as these. Tony gestured for Bruce’ phone, which was given to him immediately.

“Tony, what are you doing?” Steve asked.

“Trying to keep us all from dying… or, well, given the serum and the Hulk, trying to protect myself and the SHIELD pilot,” replied the engineer as he typed in his brother’s phone number.

_‘Bruce, what…?_

“It’s me, baby brother,” announced Tony, smiling a little, which turned into a smirk when he saw Steve’s widened eyes. Yep, he could still shock the other man.

“Tony…” began Arno, but he cut him off quickly.

“Don’t do it, Arno, nobody has been hurt yet, and we can figure this out. We can fix it,” Tony assured him.

“You are on that flight…”

“Yep.” Relief coursed through Tony. His brother had messed up, but he was not some villain trying to destroy the world. He was just desperate, and that was something Tony could understand all too well.

“I promise, we’ll figure it out.”

“If the new generation doesn’t come out in time…”

“We have enough of that, little brother. I promise. We can make it work. Nobody is going to get hurt.”

Arno’s responding chuckle sounded awful, nervous and so terribly afraid.

“I saw the footage, Tony. I know what Steve does if he perceives you as his enemy.” Tony opened his mouth, but Arno cut him off. “They almost killed you.”

“Not without plenty of provocation, I guarantee you,” retorted Tony, forcing himself to smile reassuringly (because he knew his brother had turned on the video camera; Bruce Banner Phone was kind enough to tell him that). He looked up only to see Steve avert his gaze and Barnes’ jaw tense.

“Don’t you think risking a worldwide blackout because of faulty Stark technology is provocation enough? That is if nothing worse happens. If he thinks I went behind his back…”

“You did, but he’s not going to hurt you, I promise,” Tony gently reassured the younger man, who was not a kid anymore, but he sounded very, very young.

“See you in a few hours, little brother. Let’s meet at Stark Tower.”

“Would he have tried to kill us?” asked Steve after Tony hung up the phone.

“Nope. But he would have done his best to disappear while you swim your way back to the shore. He probably hesitated the first time around, because he knows you, but yes, he probably realized that you would return to stop him, and… he seems afraid of that. Understandable, mind you. I have opposed you once, and have the scars to prove it.”

Barnes stood up and approached Tony, who shrunk back in his seat. The former assassin froze and Winter Soldier Arm instantly blamed himself for Tony’s obvious fear of Barnes.

Damn it, he had such a weak spot for that piece of machinery! He forced himself to relax and gave the other man a questioning look.

“From the beginning, Mr. Stark, please.”

“What?” replied Tony; unsure what the other man wanted from him.

“I am not stupid, but God only knows, you make me feel this way every time we are in the same room. What was Arno Stark about to do, and how did you know about it? Step by step, please.”

“Bruce blocked Arno’s access. Arno got suspicious, and apart from Clint and Natasha, the Avengers aren’t trained keep secrets from a technological genius, so he found out about Bruce finding the faulty code and you leaving the US to ask me for help. He probably thought about blowing you out of the sky the first time around, but didn’t because… he knows you and probably likes you, but he also knows how you operate against threats, and with this new tech, he became the enemy, so he prepared to have this plane crash over the Atlantic, knowing it would not kill either of you, but would give him enough time to either clean up the mess or disappear.”

“What about the pilot?”

“He thought you’d kill him, Barnes. Believe me, that knowledge is enough to become slightly irrational.” The Winter Soldier alone was one of the most dangerous people on the planet; Captain America and the Winter Soldier together were invincible and, if you were the enemy, nothing short of terrifying. However, it did worry Tony that Arno had been ready to risk killing an innocent human to save his own life. Yes, Tony was a murderer, he had traded the lives of other people to save his friends, but if this had been about himself… if his death could have stopped the Civil War? He would have slit his own throat with a kitchen knife before JARVIS could alert anybody. But then, Tony really did not want Arno to get hurt, and was glad he had a sense of self-preservations unlike some idiots he called his friends ( _Hi, Bruce. Hey there, Steve!_ ). Ultimately, the whole mess showed him that Iron Man should have been buried long ago, preferably after the Chitauri invasion. He doubted that Iron Man would recover from this.

“I see,” said Barnes thoughtfully before he looked at Tony. His eyes were as open and honest as Tony had ever seen them. For a moment, the engineer could see that young man who had followed Captain Steve Rogers to the end of the world and beyond. It was strangely humbling. “I won’t apologize for what happened, but for what it’s worth, I’m sorry we were on opposite sides, and…” the super soldier avoided his gaze. “I should have asked for your forgiveness long ago, but who could ever forgive the murderer of their parents?”

Tony froze in his seat. Old hatred and anger coiled in his gut so viciously, it surprised even him, only to come to the realization that he was the last person on Earth with the right to judge.

“Edwin Jarvis,” he whispered, both a question and a statement. He had never wanted to think about it; how terrified they must have been in the face of Hydra’s best assassin.

“He stood between your parents and the Winter Soldier,” Barnes’ voice sounded, if possible, even softer than his own. He did not meet Tony’s eyes. “The Asset respected him for his honor. He was a brave man.”

“He was _everything_ ,” Tony loathed the near-silent sob that escaped him; more than twenty years, and it still hurt like a knife in the gut. “I know it wasn’t you, Barnes. I read the fucking files a hundred times. I know what they did to you, but Jarvis and mom, they didn’t… I hated you.” Winter Soldier Arm whimpered like Tony had just hit him with a wrench, and Barnes looked just as desolate. “Even back then, I knew that was wrong, but I’m not nor have I ever been a saint. It’s so much easier to hate a specific face than the organization behind it.” Tony lowered his head. Barnes had been brainwashed and tortured in a way that made his time in Afghanistan seem like a vacation. The soldier was a victim not unlike his parents and Jarvis, but knowing that logically and forgiving the person who had killed the people closest to him were two different things. “Give me time, Barnes. And stop it with the self-loathing, both of you!” he addressed the artificial arm sternly. “It gives me a headache.”

Barnes’ surprise was only matched by the look on Steve’s face.

“Tony…”

“I’m not a saint, Rogers,” repeated Tony, his voice a growl. “Don’t push it.”

“Not a saint, perhaps,” replied Barnes seriously. “But a far better man than you give yourself credit for.”

Tony snorted, and focused back on Bruce Banner Laptop. Said owner approached the engineer, and sat down next to him. When a hand hesitatingly touched his shoulder, Tony looked up from the screen and stared at the arm that initiated the contact (Bruce never did that! He accepted friendly touches, but he never initiated them). Bruce smiled shyly and with so much understanding and compassion, the engineer almost started bawling right then and there. Instead, he leaned against Bruce and continued to work. If nothing else, his friendship to Bruce would be rekindled after this.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still interested in the conclusion?
> 
> I have three more chapters planned (one is almost written), which will not be enough to heal all wounds, but to get rid off some misunderstandings at least. Tony won't like all of it.


	9. Fish in the Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony comes home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are the best! Thank you so much for all the reviews and kudos. This chapter is long, the next one will be shorter, but instead of two more chapters, we'll have three more chapters ;-)

_Chapter 9: Fish in the Water_

Steve felt awful. JARVIS' words still echoed in his mind and Tony's actions on the plane did nothing to soften the blow of his own shame. Twice in less than a day, he had misjudged Tony.

" _We both know that, while you may be civil, possibly even kind, you cannot feel true regard for a person with standards and status unlike your own."_

It was a terrible accusation, but he could not say that the AI was entirely wrong. He had proudly called Tony his friend to both Bruce and Bucky only hours before, but now he could not help but wonder whether this was true. Had Tony been a friend before the war? They had been brothers in arms, surely, but even  _that_ , something that Steve held in higher esteem than almost anything was only marginally present when it came to Tony: for Thor and the Hulk, yes, for Natasha, Sam and Clint, no doubt, for the Howling Commandos and Bucky? That was not even a question. However, being brutally honest with himself, he had kept Tony at an arm's length, had called him 'Stark' months after they had started working together. He had never truly trusted the man's egotistical mannerisms, or his tendencies to act before thinking of the possible consequences. He could not call a man a comrade who had no previous combat training ( _'We are not soldiers!'_ ), especially not a man who had never even  _heard_  of the concept of moderation and modesty. Tony had so obviously reveled in being a hero it had rubbed Steve the wrong way. But then Tony was also a walking and talking contradiction, and had shown early on that he was not just the flashy Genius/Playboy/Billionaire/Philanthropist (' _I would just cut the wire.'_ ) he had introduced himself as ( _'You know this is a one-way trip?'_ ).

He should have given more of an effort to get to know the real Tony Stark. If nothing else, once this mess was resolved, he would offer Tony an apology for his bigoted harshness.

"Anything?" Bruce asked the engineer who shook his head in response.

"I need my workshop. I know there is a solution, but it won't be easy," he then answered after Bruce prodded him some more. "I'll fix this."

There was the determination he had come to know and fear in Tony. As long as that iron will was not turned against your cause, he was one of the fiercest allies one could hope for. He had always known that. He had known that the second they had first meet.

* * *

They arrived in New York only a few hours later. It was 10 PM when they arrived at the former Avengers tower. Even after two years, it was still strange to see the building so dark and unwelcoming.

Arno was waiting for them by the entrance.

Tony spotted him first, and hugged him fiercely. Super soldier hearing allowed Steve to hear the older man's reassuring words, "Everything's gonna be fixed, I promise. Don't worry."

Arno's returning hug was no less fierce and, while he obviously enjoyed being in his brother's arms, he did not look assured. He seemed to gauge both his and Bucky's reactions, as if they could attack him any minute.

"Let's go in, shall we?" said Steve.

"Couldn't," replied Arno, "I don't know why…"

Tony interrupted him by simply opening the door without any trouble. Once they stepped inside, Steve could swear he saw the former billionaire smile in the darkness.

"Daddy's home."

The tower exploded.

Not literally, but it was like a giant beacon was lit. The normally near-silent tower was a buzz of electricity.

"Welcome home, Mr. Stark," said JARVIS, and Steve could swear he heard both the happiness and smugness in the artificial voice.

It was not just JARVIS, though. Ever since Tony had told them of his abilities, a part of Steve had been in doubt. Now? It seemed to the super soldier that the entire tower was full of life and excitement. It was impossible to miss. He did not need two automated vacuum cleaners bumping into Bucky as they tried to make their way to Tony. All he needed was the expression on the engineer's face.

This was not the look of a man who had returned to an empty house he had once called his residence. It was the face of someone who was reuniting with his family.

"Missed you too, kids," said Tony softly. "JARVIS…"

"Food has been ordered. The staff has already prepared your bedroom and the workshop is fully operational."

"What about the Avenger floors?"

"I am sure that Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner, Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes will find the couches in the Common Room comfortable enough, Sir. After all, Dr. Banner and Captain Rogers have used them on a regular basis for more than two years."

"JARVIS…" began Tony in a warning tone.

"Very well, Sir. May I suggest that you rest before you disappear into the workshop?"

Having watched the Space Odyssey with Clint and Sam, Steve suddenly thought that staying in a building that was fully controlled by a computer, which had sufficient reason to hate them, might not be the best idea.

"You are not going all HAL 9000 on us, are you, JARVIS?" asked Bruce obviously thinking along similar lines, but with an inexplicable if somewhat sad smile on his face.

"No, Dr. Banner, my programming would not allow such actions," said JARVIS, sounding only marginally warmer. "More importantly, hurting you would hurt Mr. Stark and that is not acceptable."

"That's a far cry from you forgiving me then," continued Bruce, unperturbed.

"While Mr. Stark has anticipated your actions correctly, I must admit that they managed to take me by surprise. I would have expected your loyalties, if not in favor of Mr. Stark, to be conflicted at the very least, but that was not the case."

"I'm sorry, JARVIS," whispered Bruce, looking chastised and about as guilty as Steve felt.

"Stop, all of you," interrupted Tony warningly. "I'm home for the first time in two years. The next person trying to rain on my parade will either face a cold shower tomorrow morning or be donated to a community college."

"Of course, Sir," JARVIS sounded amused. "Forgive me."

"That's more like it. See you tomorrow, oh and Baby Brother? The Penthouse comes with a guest bedroom if you wish to stay here overnight. Bruce, don't mind JARVIS' grumpiness. I'm sure your floor is prepared."

Tony did not bother to give any further instructions, and left the room. Arno hesitated for only a second before he timidly wished them a good night and followed the older Stark. Steve looked at Bucky who smiled wryly, "He didn't throw us out. That's something."

Steve suddenly realized how much he had missed the tower (home), as he walked through the lit halls and the communal rooms… There were so many memories in this place, most of them good, and a few spectacularly bad ones ( _'You should know better than to think you could outsmart JARVIS, Captain. I know you're here.' - 'Are you happy, Director Stark? Do you congratulate on your success? Goliath is dead by your hand!' – ' Sacrifices had to be made. We both knew that.' – 'Listen to you, Stark. Don't you see what you're doing? You are no better than the villains we fought.' – 'Rogers, the longer you talk the more likely it is that you'll get caught.' – 'I have more than enough time to beat the arrogance out of you, Stark.' – 'My, my! Captain America threatens with physical harm… Dear old Dad never mentioned your tendency to resort to violence.' – 'Don't you dare mention your father, Stark! He was ten times the man you are!' – 'No need to reverse-quote Scar on me, Cap. Get out of here, or I will suit up.'_ ). Sometimes he wished he could change the past. There had to have been something to get Tony on his side. He wondered where they had gone wrong. The more he thought about it the more it dawned him just how inexistent their friendship was. The realization suddenly made him sick to his stomach. Numbly, he entered his floor with Bucky in tow, who whistled.

"Wow, Stark sure knows how to make you feel at home." His eyes observed the delicate, slightly old-fashioned furniture mixed with modern appliances and a few of Tony's rather unique designs (not trying to keep him in an isolated bubble, but with a slice of the past, present and future, so he could decide where he wanted to live). He knew what Bucky meant. The room was as warm as ever (in more than just the literal sense), and because of that, Steve felt even worse. Having witnessed how sensitive the super soldier's ears were, Tony had installed and developed appliances that were silent even to Steve, and the room was so well isolated, he only vaguely heard the busy streets of New York, feeling almost like a home he no longer had. Tony had made him feel welcome by giving him things from the past, but always made sure he did not become melancholy. He had appreciated the kindness back then, now it was like someone had stabbed him through the chest.

"Yeah, he really does," Steve whispered.

* * *

The next day, Steve and Bucky went to the Common Kitchen to eat some breakfast. Unsurprisingly, none of the other men were there.

"Bruce usually doesn't stay in bed this long," frowned Bucky. "Stark tends to sleep in, I would guess."

Steve laughed, "Only Bruce and potentially lethal threats are capable of rousing that man at 6 in the morning, but I bet my bike that they're already in the workshop."

On their way down, they encountered Arno who visibly flinched.

"Steve, I'm sorry, I didn't…" he began, and Steve did not even have it in him to be angry. He had spent far too much time being angry at Starks these past two years.

"You should have come to us when you realized you screwed up," he reprimanded the man under his command sternly but also resigned.

The intercom switched on, "Hey, Rogers, stop harassing my brother. What's done is done. No need to smother him with the ' _I am disappointed in you'_ Captain America glare."

"I didn't…" began Steve.

"Please, even if I had not turned on audio, I'd have recognized that look anywhere. It makes us lesser men cry, you know."

To Steve's surprise, Bucky chuckled.

"You do have that look," he addressed Steve before he continued, "Believe me, Stark, it was even worse when he was that willful yet scrawny boy I remember."

"Hey!" protested Steve, glaring at Bucky, who looked entirely unimpressed.

"Wow, Sergeant, that truly is impressive," drawled Tony, but Steve knew him well enough to hear the amusement in his voice. The familiarity was painful.

"Get down in the workshop, you three."

"You have a solution?" Arno sounded both hopeful and disbelieving.

"Nope, but I got a couple of questions."

As they stepped into the lab, Bruce sat on a chair typing away, a smile on his face. He looked wonderfully at peace and highly amused by the manic whirlwind that swept through the room in the form of Tony Stark.

"Arno! Okay, so while I looked at the code I noticed that there are repeated sequences here," he pulled up a hologram and enhanced the part he was talking about, "here and here. Why?"

"Stabilization. The code became unstable unless I added the repeats," explained Arno before he went deep into programming land, to which Tony replied in kind, before he said, "Okay, thanks. Crutches, be gone!" He flicked his wrists and the sequences disappeared from the code.

"Wait, you are not creating a new code? Why take the old ones?" asked Arno, confused.

"You can strip something down and rebuild it, but the essence must stay the same," said Tony in a tone of voice that brooked no argument. "You can create, you can try to fix it, but you can't fix something you destroy."

"What?" Three voices asked as one. The only person that did not chime in was the physicist.

Tony looked back to the monitor, but gestured at Bruce, who cleared his throat before he started to explain (they had obviously had this conversation only minutes before), "Remember Tony's mutation," Steve glimpsed at Arno, who seemed unmoved. If Tony had not told him before, they probably talked last night. "He can read the feelings and thoughts of all electronic life. Tony is an engineer. Think about what this implies."

"I…" began Steve, but he drew a blank.

"He can't just destroy things because they don't work the way he wants them to. He can modify it, he can repair it when it's broken, but he can't just kill it."

That made Steve shudder. The implications were actually quite terrifying. He directly addressed Tony, "So, you think you can just  _fix_  anything you don't like?"

That would explain so much about Tony who had this near-obsession about 'fixing' things. The Ultron mess was the perfect example for Tony meddling with things he should not. Did that come from being a technopathic mutant? Was that the cause for his God-complex?

All levity left Tony and he pressed his lips together, "The alternative is destroying it. To utterly  _undo_  it. Ask your friend how much he liked it and tell me again why I should do the same."

"This is different," contradicted Steve. "You write the code, right? You create their souls."

"If I may, Sir?" chimed in JARVIS, and Tony nodded, strangely hesitant about letting his own creation talk. "You make the mistake of generalization, Captain Rogers. From your manner of questioning I presume you believe that he views himself as God, but that is not remotely accurate. Setting the old discussion of whether a soul exists or not aside, Sir is just infinitely better at programming than any other individual on Earth, meaning that he can go deeper into the code than most, but unlike  _them_ ," the derisive tone was cutting and Steve could swear he saw Arno flinch, "he is aware of the responsibility and would never create something that is damaged. DUM-E, U, Butterfingers and myself are to be considered unique and self-aware artificial forms of life. Sir has created us, taught us and served as our parent. However, our code does not make our regard for him an imperative, and as such, he gave us a choice." Tony's eyes softened and his lips twitched a little. "Sir is not our God, but he is a very good creator. I use this term instead of parent because he often builds things that serve a specific function, like a blender or a microwave. However, he would never write a code or create a system for such appliances that would make them self-aware, as it would be unethical. They are capable of feeling emotion, yes, but so are animals. I must remind you that some animals have been shown to be self-aware, but often the data remained inconclusive."

"So what does fixing mean in this particular case?" asked Bucky, ever practical in his approach.

"I looked at the code," Tony answered. "Right now, it doesn't care for anything but its own existence. I'm trying to teach it just that without giving it self-awareness or the ability to self-improve while simultaneously making it the best Stark technology ever sold on the market. No biggie."

Silence followed his statement, before Bruce said, "Let's get started, then."

* * *

Watching Tony, Bruce and Arno work was beautiful, even if Steve did not understand a word of it. The holograms danced under Tony's hands while Bruce and Arno worked the computers. It was the engineer who looked the most at ease. Bruce was as happy as Steve had ever seen him in the past two years, and Arno smiled occasionally whenever Tony said something in gibberish (it obviously made sense to other two men). However, Tony was different: he looked like he was born to do this, and like somebody who had spent time locked away and removed from the thing he loved the most.

To think he had played a major role in separating Tony from what was so clearly his passion filled Steve with shame, and he was just barely capable of reminding himself that he had been justified in his actions. Nevertheless, he wondered if he should talk to the authorities again. It would be cruel to withhold this from Tony again. The man seemed so  _alive_ , in a way Steve had not seen him in a long time. The man from Brooklyn feared that if they removed Tony from his element again, he would wither and die.

The former Stark heir was the only one who did not leave the workshop all day. Both Arno and Bruce needed time to recharge after working six hours straight. Tony simply muttered something about 'Bruce' and 'coffee,' which Bruce apparently translated into, "Sure, turkey sandwich, water and coffee coming up."

It was late at night, when Steve sat in the Common Kitchen drinking a glass of water, while Arno (ever the Stark) drank a cup of coffee. Bruce and Bucky were still in the workshop with Tony.

"I knew when I got the job that it would be hard, but I have no idea how Tony was able to uphold his Iron Man duties as well as his position as Stark heir, SHIELD director and R&D consultant for both SHIELD and Stark Industries simultaneously," Arno looked bone-tired and wary in a way Steve had never seen him. How could he have missed his teammate's exhaustion? "Reed was right. Tony is the world's greatest multitasker…" He smiled wryly, "Did you know that, on paper, I'm supposed to be smarter than him? I just wanted to create something that would blow his work out of the water. You cannot truly fathom the beauty of his creations unless you work in the programming field, but… The only thing that has always bothered me about them is their almost chaotic structure. I wanted to create something that is not so mindboggling and more clean-cut… perfect, I guess." He looked away from Steve and tightly gripped his cup. "It shouldn't have been this hard, but Dad was right all along, I guess. Tony Stark is a legend in the making, and replacing him is impossible."

The shattering sound of a coffee mug hitting the ground had them both whirl around. Tony's eyes were wide, and frighteningly furious.


	10. Ti Prego di Scusarmi, Fratellino

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony cannot believe that Howard had used him to make his brother feel inferior. He will not stand for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the delay and the brevity of the chapter. Thank you so much for your comments, kudos and bookmarks!

_Chapter 10: Ti Prego di Scusarmi, Fratellino_

Tony's mind came to a screeching halt as it filtered Arno's words. Fury coursed through him. He hardly reacted to the sound of his favorite 'Quiet! Genius at work' mug, a gift from Clint on their last Christmas together as a team, shattering into pieces. He barely noticed Barnes and Bruce approaching swiftly and that only thanks to Winter Soldier Arm who asked for the precise location of the threat.

"No," the engineer whispered. Arno looked at him in confusion, clearly not understanding what was going through Tony's mind. How could he? Tony had never said a thing against Howard, not wanting to hurt his younger brother.

"He didn't do that to you," he mentioned to force out through clenched teeth. "He didn't use me as an ideal you couldn't possibly live up to."

Arno decidedly avoided his gaze, "If the shoe fits…"

"No!" Tony shouted. Memories threatened to drown him with voices that deceptively sounded like a combination of Steve and Howard ( _'If only you were more like Captain America.' – 'Your father would have never done this. How could you?' – 'If I could trade you for him, I would do it in a heartbeat.'_ ). At least, Steve had compared the quality of two grown men, unlike his father who had made parallels between a heightened human and his five-year-old adoptive son. To think that Howard had used  _him_ to make Arno feel like he had to prove himself made Tony sick.

"You listen to me, Arno. Howard Stark was an  _asshole_  who bullied his children into behavior by constantly reminding them how they fall short in comparison to someone else. He may have been a great friend, a remarkably monogamous husband, an outstanding businessman and a genius, but he was a shitty father. Howard Stark couldn't stand the sight of me, and I disappointed him on a near-daily basis. That's the truth. I received a message from him only a few years ago stating that he was proud of me, but you know what? I think that was addressed to you. JARVIS, roll the tape!"

He remembered how that tape had actually given him some strength initially – to know that Howard had believed in him meant a lot more than it should have – but most of all, it had also managed to shatter his confidence. He had long ago accepted the fact that he would never be able to step out of his father's overly long shadow; that people hated him for something they had loved Howard for notwithstanding. When he had read the hidden will, and realized that he was not even remotely related to the Stark family, and that, with a probability of 95.9%, had been conceived naturally, he had come to the conclusion that Howard's words ( _'My greatest creation is you.'_ ) had never been meant for him. He simply served as the middleman making sure Arno knew about the tape. It did not hurt nearly as much as he thought it would, and still more than he was prepared for.

As they watched the tape, Tony worriedly glimpsed at his brother who looked sad, but also relieved and a tiny bit happy.

"It doesn't matter what he says though," continued Tony once he had JARVIS cut off the feed, stepping up to his brother and grabbing his shoulders. Arno was appallingly thin. Had he lost his appetite while worrying about the future? "You are a brilliant man with the ability to change the world. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise."

"I can't do what you do," was the desperate reply. "Tony, I can't! Being the Iron Man is slowly killing me. I can't do that! I was never meant for that. I was trained to make sure the company thrives, to constantly provide ideas for R&D and to write unique codes nobody else can. I'm a programmer, not an engineer! I don't do the whole  _'create and build'_  thing that you do. Everybody thinks that replacing you is easy, because 'hey, you are dedicated, allegedly smarter than him and Stark was lazy. Why are you making such a fuss?' How have you convinced them that all you ever do is party? How can anybody look at the stuff you create and think that you put anything but your full focus behind it? I'm so tired, Tony. I love Pepper, she is wonderful, but she doesn't understand that I can't go to every function, charity event and board meeting while doing all that other stuff…" Tony roughly grabbed his brother's far too thin body, and hugged him. They had talked yesterday, but this breakdown still came as a surprise to Tony. Arno had not seemed this desperate.

"Shush,  _fratellino_ ," whispered the engineer. "Everything is going to be alright. I won't leave you alone this time around. We'll do it together, we'll share the load. Stop worrying."

He hoped that Steve would let him. Yes, Tony (and Arno too it seemed) was officially out of the hero business, and he would not return, but he could not just abandon his brother when he was so obviously desperate. R&D did not sound too bad. He could work with that. People always needed things. He had always wanted to go deep into the medical field. It would be interesting to learn, and if Arno was there double-checking his ideas, the world may not be destroyed in the process. It seemed… safe. Arno pressed his forehead against Tony's shoulder and the former Stark heir kissed the top of his brother's head.

"Go catch some sleep, we'll figure out the details tomorrow."

Once Arno left, Tony addressed Steve, "Change of plans. I don't care what strings you need to pull to make this happen, but after this is over, I'll work at the SI Research and Development department. Arno will serve as my control checkpoint. Iron Man won't fly again. The armors will be dissembled after we fix Arno's code."

"No Iron Man? But…" began Steve, but Tony cut him off quickly.

"Iron Man died during the Civil War. He's no longer one of the good guys. I never should have convinced Arno to take up the armor, but I was just fooling myself, I guess."

Iron Man had been his ticket out of the crippling guilt, his atonement for past sins, but he had forgotten one thing: he was still Tony Stark, fuck-up extraordinaire. Back when he had built the armor, he should have just given it to someone else, somebody who actually had a heart.

Steve seemed to recognize the determination, and promised that he would do his best, which surprised Tony. He had expected more resistance.

"I have one condition," said Steve, and Tony frowned, wondering when Steve had become a businessman. It seemed as if prolonged exposure to him could be a factor.

"Avengers Tower is still yours, Steve. I can work at SI and get an apartment someplace else. I'll make sure the tower stays functional in my absence this time."

"Thanks, Tony, but this is the exact opposite of what I want. I'd like us to reconnect. I'd never invade your privacy, but if we set up our headquarters here, would you agree to come to team meetings? Even if you are not an Avenger, your opinion is highly valued." Steve's blue eyes were soft and pleading, and who the hell could refuse Captain America?

"Avengers consultant?"  _Hell, yes!_ "Sure, I can live with that." He did not smile. This was still a mess, and he hated that his brother was so distressed. He was still furious with Steve, and he was tired of playing the hero (or the villain). He had abandoned everybody he loved in order to save them. However, this here, this tiny step… Perhaps the future did not look as bleak as he made it out to be.


	11. One More Chance Is All I Ask

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All things must come to an end. That does not mean the end is a happy one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me ages, apologies.
> 
> I had a realization last week:
> 
> Thanks to the introduction of the multiverse in Marvel… Every Marvel fan fiction we write is a universe of its own, and in a way no less legitimate than MCU or 616 (except that they are not approved by the creators). There is no OOC, no "That character wouldn't do that, etc." 616!Tony Stark is not MCU!Tony Stark is not AA!Tony Stark. My Tony Stark is another one. If you don't like my stories, or have problems with a characterization, just think "Well, that's her 'verse" and be done with it. Also, I have already created multiple universes within my own stories. Every series is a universe on its own, and they are not necessarily related.  
> That thought is very freeing for writing :)
> 
> This story is AU anyway :) So, have fun!
> 
> As you can see, the end is in sight. There will be one more chapter from Tony's POV, and an epilogue.

The next day went smoother than Steve could have expected.

Bucky, Steve, Bruce and Arno were in the kitchen for breakfast when JARVIS asked them to go to the workshop. Worried, they practically ran downstairs, only to be stopped by JARVIS.

“Gentlemen, I thought you might wish to witness the moment of triumph. Sir has found the solution and he should be done within the minute. Please do not disturb him.” Pride rang clearly through the cool voice.

Tony’s hands danced across the panel for a moment, his eyes bright and determined. He called up the hologram, poked it, turned it, and exhaled with a smile. It rejuvenated his facial expression, and Steve had once again the urge to draw it. It was rare to see the engineer so free and happy.

Noticing that he was being watched, Tony turned, and his smile widened at the sight of them. The workshop door opened, and the short man explained Bruce and Arno (who instantly started checking the code) what he had done.

“Brilliant,” whispered Arno. “This will… Wow, we’ve got to get marketing on this, Tony,” he smiled as he looked at the code. “It’s beautiful. Thank you!”

Tony made a dismissive gesture and then instructed JARVIS to update the new generation of Stark technology, but Arno stopped him.

“I’ll take it from here, Tony,” said Arno. “JARVIS could make sure I don’t miss anything.” He hastily added when he noticed the less than enthusiastic reaction of everyone but Tony. Thankfully, Tony was distracted and did not notice his former teammates’ reaction. Steve had only a faint idea just how protective the man was of his brother. Yesterday’s outburst over the words of a dead man was proof of that.

Steve had not known.

He had noticed that the engineer was tense whenever Howard was mentioned, but he had been unaware just how unfit his friend had been as a father.

“Okay.”

And that was that. Tony was almost exhaustingly enthusiastic all day. He spent an hour explaining his brilliance to Bruce, who was interested but also fondly exasperated at Tony’s antics. In the middle of the onslaught of words, the physicist suddenly exclaimed, “I missed you, Tony.”

The former billionaire stopped abruptly, but did not say anything, just continued with his explanation after a moment of silence. Nevertheless, Steve did not miss how Tony smiled every time he looked at Bruce, which only fueled his own shame as it made him realize that, even now, he still could not honestly say that he had missed Tony.

The clacking of high-heels on a polished floor interrupted his musings, and the engineer halted in his steps.

“Hi Pepper,” said Tony almost shyly, or like a boy who had broken a vase.

“’Hi Pepper?’” she replied incredulously. “That is all you have to say?”

“I was about to call you?” It sounded rather like a question than an answer and Miss Potts made a sound that could only be interpreted as ‘fond exasperation’. A moment later, she was hugging her former employer and possibly best friend.

“Welcome home, Tony,” she whispered. She then looked at Steve and Bucky rather coolly.

“Captain, Sergeant.”

Like Rhodes, the red-haired lady had never wavered in their loyalty for Tony, and, in turn, had resented Steve’s hand in Tony’s exile.

“Miss Potts, it is good to see you.”

“Captain, I hope you have everything you need.”

It was not a question, and Steve immediately agreed.

“JARVIS?” the CEO of Stark Industries asked tentatively, only to get a warm welcome back. There were tears in her eyes when she returned the greeting.

Miss Potts completely ignored Bruce, who looked chastised. Tony frowned, and pulled the physicist to his side, as he started to explain what he had done to resolve the issue of Arno’s code. Steve had not known when Miss Potts had been informed about the disaster, but then there was _nothing_ that lady did not know, at least not when it came to Tony Stark. She did not look too happy to give Bruce the time of day, which Tony noticed, and immediately tried to cover with a lot of talking. Realizing what the tension did to her former employer and close friend, she made an effort to be friendlier with the scientist. Mr. Hogan entered the building, not even bothering to greet Steve and Bucky and went straight to Tony. They hugged tightly, but did not say anything. It seemed like no words were needed.

“Steve, Bucky, may I talk to you for a second?” asked Arno from the door (Steve had no idea how long he had been there), and Steve gladly agreed to go with him if only to avoid a frosty conversation with Miss Potts and Mr. Hogan.

To their surprise, the soldiers were led to Tony’s workshop. Arno gestured them into a small, round room Steve had not seen before. It looked like a recent addition to Tony’s ‘halls of awesomeness’ as he called his lab.

“Arno?”

“I could not enter this until last night. Access can only be given by JARVIS.”

“JARVIS?”

“Captain Rogers, do you know the term ‘primary directive’?” came the bodiless voice of JARVIS that sounded so much like Vision’s.

“Yes?”

“Mine is to never harm a human being be it actively or letting it happen by inaction. I also have the directive to follow Mr. Stark’s orders but only if they do not conflict with the primary directive. He will be angry with me for showing you this, but Mr. Stark may come to harm if I don’t.”

Steve was confused, looking at Arno for his help. The younger Stark brother called one of those virtual keyboards and typed something too fast for Steve to follow. Streams and streams of data appeared all around them with hundreds of images and videos. There was one with the Hulk going rampant, more than one image with dead Avengers, at least ten with a dead Bucky and/or Steve.

Horrified, Steve’s eyes widened as he took a step back.

“What is this?”

“574 different scenarios before and throughout the Civil War,” explained JARVIS. “Mr. Stark ran all these models. In addition, he looked at very decision, everything he could have done to prevent deaths, any death except, perhaps, for his own. I am grateful that his death would not have changed a thing about the outcome, or would have led to a better outcome than what he ultimately decided to do... Look at each of them, Captain Rogers, especially scenarios 439 to 532 because they modeled what would have happened if you died either in the beginning or during the war. In 74.54% of the cases, the war would have ended with a minimum of casualties, but then Mr. Stark has never been a murderer and you are his friend. He could have never followed through. He ultimately ran with scenario 213, which led to the least number of likely casualties and spared all of the Avengers.”

As the A.I. spoke, the scenario in question was running on the holographic screens. Steve recognized the date and realized that he had run the scenario a few weeks before it truly started, and it was scary how accurate it was. Numbers, dates, images and videos appeared illustrating what actually happened and, clearly separated displayed in black-and-white, what choices there were. It was a horrifying sight.

He was not Tony; he did not have the man’s mind, but he was more than capable of grasping what he saw and realize that JARVIS spoke the truth. Everything the man had done had been for them. The Civil War could not have been avoided, and Tony had decided to become the main focus of anger, fear and frustration so that the rest of the Avengers and other heroes were spared.

By the end of the war, all hatred had focused on him. Even people like Reed Richards, who had just been as involved as Tony, had gotten out of it with little to no repercussion.

“That son of a…,” Bucky muttered under his breath but stopped when he realized what he had been about to say.

Steve felt awful. He knew what this was. Tony had protected them as he had protected Miss Potts, Mr. Hogan and Rhodes. There was no doubt in Steve’s mind that Tony would have paid an even higher price without hesitation if only to keep his friends safe.

Steve felt terrible because… Had he known the things Tony was able to see, with Tony’s life on the line instead of his, he would not have put Tony’s life over that of a number of others. He would not have killed him, but he would not have protected Tony at the critical moments. He would have run with the scenario that ended the war earlier. He would have protected Bucky, though. And Peggy, and Bruce, and Clint, and Natasha… He would have tried to spare Tony’s life but he would not have prioritized it over the lives of others, simply because Tony Stark could take care of himself.

_‘Be honest with yourself, Rogers,’_ his conscience sounded like Tony. _’The problem is that you did not like him. He was too rich and too smart with too many edges and too much flair, and you could not stand it. You hated it whenever he questioned your strategies. You did not trust him. Especially after Ultron.’_

JARVIS was right. He had never been Tony’s friend. He had not missed him… he had preferred his absence even, and he would not have protected him during the war. It was a terrible thing to think about a brother in arms, but he had never viewed Tony as that.

“What are you doing?”

Bucky, Arno and Steve whirled around.

Tony did not look happy. The look on his ways showed clearly that he knew what they were doing.

“JARVIS…” he began

“Sir, my primary directive…”

“I wrote that directive, I know what it says,” Tony’s voice was clipped.

“Then you must understand why I had to say something,” JARVIS pleaded. “Why I cannot let you follow through with your plan.”

Steve had the distinct feeling that he had missed something vital in that stream of information. What plan was JARVIS talking about?

“And you know me well enough to realize why I am disappointed,” the engineer retorted. The AI did not reply. When nobody spoke, Tony sighed, “Thanks, buddy. You did well.” Squaring his shoulders, he faced Steve and Bucky.

“Anything you wish to comment on? My callousness? My willingness to sacrifice others? I’m all ears, Rogers.”

“Thank you,” said Steve, feeling awful. Tony reeled back, looking as if Steve has slapped him. It did not ease Steve’s conscience. “I did not realize why you decided to do the things you did. You are wrong, though. You did not willingly sacrifice people, you tried to protect everyone as well as you could but were unwilling to hurt your team in the process. I admire that. You are a good man, Tony, and I apologize for not seeing that.” Bucky stepped closer to him, frowning. He seemed to know instinctively what Steve would say next, that he had to get it all out, but his best friend did not look happy about it. In fact, he shook his head, a clear warning, but Steve was an honest man. He could not remain silent over this. “I am sorry for not understanding what you have done for us. I am sorry for not treating you as the ally and teammate that you were… that you are. I hope that, now that this is all over and you are back in your home, we will finally become the friends we should have been from the beginning.”

Steve immediately regretted wording it like that when he saw Tony’s eyes widen.

“I was not your friend, then? Never?”

The engineer looked like somebody had just reached for his heart and ripped it out. Steve should know, he had seen this look before. A truly awful chuckle sounded through the small room, which was still playing scenario upon scenario of what could have happened had Tony not decided to sacrifice his freedom for a team that never thanked him for it.


	12. Paga Che Rompe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony does not take it well. But thankfully, there is the Hulk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Krys… Because I am sorry you were used by people you viewed as friends.

Staring at Steve, Tony realized that it did not matter that his IQ was off-scale. It did not matter that he was one of about ten people in the world whose intelligence was not quantifiable: he was the dumbest person on the planet.

“Tony…” began Steve, but Tony feared what he would do if the man did not remain silent.

“Wow, that’s… well, I should have guessed,” he whispered. Years of ‘ _not good enough_ ’ from everyone, including the people he loved the most, including Pepper and Rhodey (oh, he loved them, but in rare moments, Tony felt inadequate around them, too) rang in his ears.

“Tony, please…”

The billionaire lifted his hand to silence the other man.

“I mean,” when had his voice turned hoarse? “Just because you want to be Captain America’s friend, doesn’t mean you are. It’s not like it never happened before. I mean, at least you didn’t rip the arc reactor out of my chest, right?”

He rarely thought about Obie these days. It had become a familiar ache that never quite disappeared, but was not overpowering either, that the man he had loved like an uncle and substitute father figure, had hated him enough to have him killed (and trying it himself when that plan had failed). Right now, all he could think of was that the man had to roll in his grave laughing his head off. He could hear him (a chuckle so familiar like his mother’s perfume, and the taste of Edwin Jarvis’ biscuits). Soon, it was all he heard.

He turned around and left the room. He bumped into Bruce on his way out who asked whether he was okay. Tony could not say for sure if he answered, as he stepped into the elevator. He needed some air. All he could think was what he had discussed with JARVIS not too long ago. Was it only 72 hours ago?

_A friend is a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations._

The Avengers had never been his friends. They had been colleagues.

_A colleague is a person with whom one works, especially in a profession or business._

That was all. He was the idiot who had interpreted too much into it.

He did not notice that he was shaking until JARVIS’ distress brought him back to the present.

“…Sir, I am sorry. I should not have…”

“No, JARVIS. Don’t. This was not your fault. You did the right thing, and… your strategy worked. The two-year plan in scraped. Arno needs my help for SI, and I… am done giving myself to a bunch of assholes who won’t thank me for it.” There were two options, getting angry or starting to cry. He was too old to cry.

“I wish you had come to this conclusion otherwise, sir,” JARVIS stated warmly and apologetically. The elevator stopped and Tony stepped out. He sat on the platform he had built to conveniently land with the suit. He looked up into the sky, staring at the infinity of space (which had caused a fair share of panic attacks in the past), and thought about the limitlessness of the multiverses. He was baffled how anyone could comprehend them in the face of infinity offered by one universe alone, and wondered if there was any version of him out there that was actually happy. He was unable to remember the last time he had felt unrestrained happiness. It had definitely happened before Afghanistan. Ignorance was bliss, after all.

“Sir, Dr. Banner has been informed of what occurred.”

“Oh?” Tony asked listlessly, but straightened when he felt the tension that exuded from the occupants of his tower. The happy squeal of Workshop Seismograph did answer his question regarding what had happened. “Where is Jolly Green right now?”

“In the elevator, sir,” said JARVIS with a strange intonation. Was he amused and worried at the same time? “He is on his way up.”

“Let him out once he gets here,” muttered Tony, mentally congratulating himself for creating Hulk-proof elevators for the tower. “He’d never hurt me.”

And wasn’t that the biggest irony of all?

The elevator doors opened with a hissed and the Hulk stepped onto the platform. He seemed a bit agitated but nothing outside of the ordinary.

“Big Guy, good to see you.” A sad smile adorned Tony’s features, still facing the sky.

“What is Tony doing?”

“Looking at the stars, thinking about multiverses.”

“Too much thinking. Puny Banner thinks too much, Tony thinks too much. Always noise. Always talking and thinking. Hulk here, Tony here. Hulk protects Tony. All good.”

That was… actually pretty damn deep, and a statement of loyalty like no other. Steve may not be his friend, but this gentle giant standing behind him? He definitely was.

He thought about some of the future possibilities he had seen – of the fear that the Hulk may become a danger to everyone and the potential need to banish him from Earth. He shuddered. He would not wish to live in that universe.

“You’re right,” said Tony with a sad smile. “I shouldn’t care about the chance of a better me. Not if I have the best possible Hulk.” With that he turned around and fondly look at the giant, green being in front of him. The Hulk looked confused, a slight frown visible on his face. Tony stood up and held out his hand. Oh so gently, a green hand held his, and the engineer’s heart swelled with his friend’s soft gesture. He tugged a little bit and verbally asked Bruce’ alter ego to sit down. To his great surprise, the normally angry creature obeyed, crossing his legs not unlike Bruce in a meditative pose. Sitting, they were almost on eye-level. In fact, Tony was actually a tiny bit taller. The engineer smiled, gingerly moved forward, trying to look as non-threatening as possible (it was terrifying to witness that powerful creature’s trust in him), and kissed his favorite Jolly Green Giant on the forehead.

The Hulk almost folded as he turned back into Bruce.

“Whoa,” the physicist exclaimed, eyes wide, still sitting on the ground. “Who’d have thought that a kiss on the forehead works like Valium for the Other Guy?”

Tony’s eyebrows creased, “Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes.” Bruce closed his eyes and breathed. “I remember, you know? Your conversation with the Hulk… I’ll do everything to be the best possible version of Bruce Banner. I promise.”

The engineer smiled fondly at one of the few people who could keep up with him. It turned a bit bitter as his thoughts shifted to the reason they were standing on the roof in the first place.

“Not going to tell me that Steve didn’t mean what he said?”

Bruce growled, his eyes turning a bit green, “I will not justify his words or actions. I am here to tell you that I quit the Avengers.”

“What?” Tony gasped. “Brucie, you can’t…”

“After you left, the Other Guy and myself were volatile at best, outright dangerous at worst. The lullaby only worked because I was terrified of what the Other Guy would do otherwise. He no longer trusts Natasha. The only reason why Sergeant Barnes is still alive is because he is an enhanced individual. He loathes Wanda to the point we cannot remain in the same room with her. The only reason I did not put Steve through a wall downstairs is because the Other Guy was more concerned about getting to you. I no longer want to be an Avenger, not without you. And you stated that Iron Man died during the war.”

Tony’s heart swelled. Fully aware that Bruce was rather touch-shy, he sat down next to him and leaned into his friend. If living in this reality meant not being friends with Captain America, being hated by the majority of… humanity, no longer being associated with the Avengers (Rogers could take that consultant job and shove it up his ass; he had thought of it as a way towards reconciliation… but he would _not_ be the Avengers’ friendless little lapdog that would use him as a whipping boy if one of his consultations turned disastrous), but instead having Pepper, Rhodey, Happy – God, Happy, there had been the scenario in which he was harmed – Bruce and Arno by his side, he would not willingly trade this reality for another.

“We could paint Rhodey’s War Machine accordingly and become the Amazing Traffic Light.”

Bruce’ chuckle was worth the unimaginative joke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hulk is the best :) Is that a tag? It should be a tag.


End file.
